New Delhi, Jan 30 (NationPress) External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar engaged in a discussion with his Comoros counterpart, Mbae Mohamed, on Friday, focusing on enhanced collaboration in health, sports, infrastructure, and capacity building.

In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar expressed, “It was a pleasure to meet Foreign Minister Mbae Mohamed of Comoros today. We discussed cooperation in health, sports, infrastructure, and capacity building. We agreed on the significance of more frequent engagements between our two nations.”

Mbae Mohamed arrived in New Delhi on Thursday to participate in the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal remarked that Mohamed’s visit is set to bolster the relationship between the two countries.

Jaiswal stated, “A warm welcome to Foreign Minister Mbae Mohamed of Comoros on his arrival in New Delhi for the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ meet. His visit will further strengthen the cordial relations between India and the Union of the Comoros.”

India established diplomatic relations with Comoros in 1976, with the Indian Embassy in Antananarivo also responsible for Comoros. The two countries maintain a close and friendly relationship, both being members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and sharing similar perspectives on critical regional and multilateral issues.

On January 31, India will host the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (IAFMM). This gathering, co-hosted by India and the United Arab Emirates, will see participation from the Foreign Ministers of other Arab League member states along with the Arab League Secretary General.

The upcoming meeting aims to build on existing collaborations and broaden the partnership, following the 4th India-Arab Senior Officials' Meeting.

This Foreign Ministers' meeting comes a decade after the first one held in Bahrain in 2016, where leaders identified five key areas of cooperation: economy, energy, education, media, and culture, proposing various activities across these sectors.

According to the MEA, “The India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting serves as the foremost institutional mechanism guiding this partnership, formalized in March 2002 through an MoU between India and the League of Arab States (LAS).”

“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 later revised in 2013 for structural organization. India stands as an Observer to the League of Arab States, a pan-Arab body comprising 22 member states.”