New Delhi, Jan 29: India will host the 2nd India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (IAFMM) on January 31, 2026, marking a significant step in strengthening its engagement with the Arab world, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The meeting will be co-chaired by India and the United Arab Emirates, and will be attended by foreign ministers from member states of the League of Arab States (LAS), along with the Secretary General of the Arab League. The foreign ministers’ meeting will be preceded by the 4th India–Arab Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) on January 30.
The upcoming meeting comes after a gap of nearly a decade, with the inaugural India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting having been held in 2016 in Bahrain. During the first meeting, the two sides identified five priority areas of cooperation — economy, energy, education, media and culture — and outlined initiatives across these sectors. The second meeting is expected to build on that framework by further expanding and deepening cooperation.
The India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is the highest institutional mechanism guiding India’s partnership with the Arab world. The framework was formalised in March 2002 through a memorandum of understanding between India and the League of Arab States to institutionalise dialogue. A Memorandum of Cooperation establishing the Arab–India Cooperation Forum was later signed during the visit of the then Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa to India in December 2008 and revised in 2013 to strengthen its organisational structure.
India currently holds observer status in the Arab League, a pan-Arab body comprising 22 member states across North Africa and the Middle East.
This will be the first time India is hosting the India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi, with all 22 Arab countries expected to be represented by foreign ministers, other ministers, ministers of state and senior officials, along with representatives of the Arab League.
Meanwhile, foreign ministers and senior officials from 20 Arab countries have already confirmed their participation, and dignitaries have begun arriving in the capital.
Welcoming the visiting Palestinian foreign minister, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X, “Warm welcome to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine H.E. @VarsenAghShahin, as she arrives in India to participate in the 2nd India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. The visit reaffirms India’s partnership with the people of Palestine and the Arab world.”
In another post, Jaiswal welcomed Sudan’s foreign minister, saying, “Delighted to welcome H.E. Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Republic of Sudan, for the second India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. The visit will further strengthen people-to-people ties between India and Sudan.”
According to the MEA, participants include representatives from Palestine, Sudan, Egypt, Djibouti, Algeria, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Somalia, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Libya, Mauritania, Iraq and Oman, along with officials from the Arab League.
India has traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations with the Arab League, with ties dating back centuries through trade, cultural exchanges and diplomatic engagement across the Arabian Sea and overland routes linking India with West Asia. Formed in Cairo in March 1945, the Arab League today comprises 22 member states.
Highlighting the economic dimension, the MEA said India–Arab trade exceeds USD 240 billion, with Arab nations supplying around 60 per cent of India’s crude oil imports and more than half of its fertiliser requirements. Cooperation spans sectors including energy, food security, finance, health, education, information technology, renewable energy and infrastructure. More than nine million Indians live and work across Arab League countries, playing a vital role in strengthening people-to-people ties and economic engagement, the ministry added.
in March 2002 through a memorandum of understanding between India and the League of Arab States to institutionalise dialogue. A Memorandum of Cooperation establishing the Arab–India Cooperation Forum was later signed during the visit of then Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa to India in December 2008, and revised in 2013 to strengthen its organisational structure.
India currently holds observer status in the Arab League, a pan-Arab body comprising 22 member states across North Africa and the Middle East.
