Modi pledges $40mn for development of Palestine

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday pledged $40mn for economic development in the Palestinian territories, marking the first-ever visit by an Indian premier to the West Bank.“We discussed regional and global developments that have a role in peace in the world and in the region,” Modi said in Ramallah, where he appeared alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Modi said he hoped peace could be reached “quickly, through dialogue and understanding.”The trip follows Modi’s visit to Israel last summer, where he opted not to make a detour to the West Bank as part of New Delhi’s efforts to “de-hyphenate” its relations with Israel and the Palestinians.Last month Modi hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a week-long visit to India, where he pitched Israeli prowess in security and technology and sought to revive a half billion dollar missile deal.Even as Modi dramatically tightens India’s ties with Israel, New Delhi has continued its longstanding support of the Palestinians in international forums.In early January India backed a UN resolution condemning US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as capital of the Jewish state.New Delhi already sponsors several development projects in Palestinian territories, and Modi said yesterday the $40mn would go for media equipment, schools and a hospital.Modi also visited the tomb of Yasser Arafat, Abbas’s predecessor, before talks with the current leadership.“I have once again assured President Abbas that India is bound by a promise to take care of the Palestinian people’s interests,” Modi said.Modi and his entourage had flown in by helicopter from Jordan, landing near Abbas’s Ramallah headquarters and laying a wreath at the mausoleum of Arafat.After a bilateral meeting, Abbas gave the Indian leader a medal “in recognition of his wise leadership” and “efforts to promote the historic relations between the State of Palestine and the Republic of India.”Abbas said they had discussed “bringing the political process out of the deadlock due to the continued Israeli occupation of our land and the political impasse following Trump’s decision on Jerusalem and the refugees”.The US president is also withholding tens of millions of dollars from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.“We count on India’s role as an international force of great prestige and weight,” Abbas said, noting “its rising power at the strategic and economic levels” that could “contribute to the achievement of a just peace in our region”.Modi said his country “hopes for peace and stability in this region”.“We believe a permanent solution to Palestine is possible through dialogue. Only diplomacy and farsightedness can break the cycle of violence and free it from the baggage of the past,” Modi said.“India and Palestine’s historic relations have stood the test of time. Palestinian interests have always got our support and remained at the top in our foreign policy.”Modi later took off for Jordan for the rest of his three-day tour, which will also take him to Oman and the United Arab Emirates.The prime minister will today lay the foundation stone for the first Hindu temple in the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi.“The first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi will come up on 55,000sq m of land and the groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow will be a historic event,” Indian ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri saisd yesterday.The prime minister will lay the foundation stone from the Dubai Opera House via video conferencing. He will also hold a meeting there with the Indian community.The temple’s construction will be completed by 2020, and be open to people of all religious backgrounds.It will be the first traditional Hindu stone temple in the Middle East, said a spokesperson from the BAPS Swaminarayanan Sanstha that is entrusted with the design, construction and management of the temple.The temple will be hand-carved by Indian temple artisans and assembled in the UAE, the spokesperson said.The UAE has two Hindu temples both located in Dubai.