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Kuwaiti sensitivities, the statement made no direct reference to Israel
(India, MEA 2006b). Similar approach of a reiteration of support for
the Palestinians without any direct reference to Israel can also be
noticed in the official Indian statements issued during Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Syria in November 2003 (India, MEA
2003b); and the India visit of Bahraini Crown Prince (January
2014).
- The Palestinian issue has been figuring prominently in its engage-
ments with Egypt. The joint statement issued at the end of President
Hosni Mubarak’s visit (November 2008) reiterated their support for
“a sovereign, independent, viable, contiguous and united State of
Palestine living within secure and recognized borders, side by side at
peace with Israel as endorsed in the Quartet Roadmap and United
Nations Security Council Resolutions 1397 and 1515” (India, MEA
2008 ). Likewise, during the visit of President Fattah el-Sisi in
September 2016 both pledged support for “an independent sover-
eign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side-by-
side with the State of Israel, within secured and recognized borders”
(India, MEA 2016d).
- New Delhi Declaration issued at the end of Iranian President
Mohammed Khatami’s visit in January 2003 had no reference to
Palestine (India, MEA 2003a). This pattern was maintained during
the visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul in February 2010 (India,
MEA 2010a) and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in April 2017
(India, MEA 2017 ); Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain in March
2007; Omani Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd Bin Mahmoud Al
Said in December 2007; Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in
August 2013; Prime Minister Sheikh Jabar of Kuwait in November
2013; King Hamad of Bahrain in February 2014; of Qatari Emir
Tamim bin Hamad in 2015 and of President Hassan Rouhani of Iran
(February 2018);
- Since assuming office Prime Minister Modi had visited eight coun-
tries in the Middle East; there were no references to Palestine in the
joint statements issued at the end of his visits to the UAE (India,
MEA 2015a), Iran (India, MEA 2016b), Qatar (India, MEA 2016c),
the UAE (February 2018) and Oman (February 2018).
- Above all, for over a decade India has been referring to East Jerusalem
as the capital of the future Palestinian state and this position was
maintained in multilateral forums such as BRICS and IBSA. In the
PALESTINE FACTOR
