India hopes for sovereign, independent, united Palestine: PM Modi to President Mahmoud Abbas

NEW DELHI: Extending an “unwavering support” to the Palestinian cause, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday affirmed that India hopes to see a sovereign, independent, united and viable Palestine which will co-exist peacefully with Israel. “India has been unwavering in supporting the Palestinian cause,” the prime minister said in his media statement.

PM Modi also attempted to assuage frayed nerves between Israel and Palestine, saying India hopes for an early resumption of talks between both the countries in order to move towards finding a comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian issue.

India and Palestine also signed five agreements after talks between Modi and Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, who is on a four-day to India. Ahead of Abbas’ visit, India had declared that it would continue to assist developmental projects in Palestine.

Earlier in the day, Palestine President Abbas was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Abbas’ visit comes ahead of Modi’s first-ever visit to Israel scheduled in July. He will be the first Indian prime minister to visit the country.

With inputs from PTI