India to host Arab foreign ministers after decade-long gap: Energy, trade education in focus

India will host the second Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on January 31 (Saturday) after a hiatus of 10 years. The meeting will be co-chaired by India and the UAE, with other member states joining as participants.

The first edition of the India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (IAFMM) was held in 2016 in Bahrain, where ministers identified five priority verticals of cooperation: economy, energy, education, media and culture and proposed a set of activities across these verticals.

About IAFMM

According to a press release by the External Affairs Ministry, IAFMM was formalised in 2002 after India and the League of Arab States (LAS) signed an MoU institutionalising the process of dialogue.

A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed for the establishment of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum during the visit of the then Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa to India in December 2008, which was subsequently revised in 2013 in terms of structural organisation. India is an Observer to the League of Arab States, a pan Arab body with 22 member States.

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Saturday’s event will be the first time New Delhi hosts the meeting and will see the participation of all 22 Arab countries by Foreign Ministers, other Ministers, Ministers of State and other Senior Officials and the Arab League. The IAFMM will be preceded by the 4th India-Arab Senior Officials’ Meeting on 30 January 2026.

Who all are expected to join?

The countries that are expected to join this year’s meeting are:

• Palestine

• Sudan

• Egypt

• Djibouti

• Algeria

• Comoros

• Jordan

• League of Arab States

• Kuwait

• Yemen

• Saudi Arabia

• Bahrain

• Somalia

• Lebanon

• Qatar

• Syria

• Libya

• Mauritania

• Iraq

• Oman