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Indian foreign minister's first visit to Israel |
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June 30, 2000
NEW
DELHI, India (AP) - India's improving relations with Israel are
highlighted by the arrival Friday of Jaswant Singh, the first Indian
foreign minister to visit since diplomatic ties were established in 1992.
Singh's
four-day trip follows one earlier this month by Home Minister
L.K. Advani in what the New Delhi government has described as sustained
high level political contacts with Israel.
India's
largest minority population is Muslim and relations with Israel
deteriorated after the 1967 war between Israel and surrounding Arab
states.
But
during the five years following establishment of diplomatic ties,
Israel became the seventh largest investor in India by 1997, with 170
joint ventures, concentrating on agriculture and water management.
Soon
after his arrival in Tel Aviv, Singh will go straight to Gaza
to meet with Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority's foreign
minister, Nabeef Shaath to discuss the Middle East peace process.
Singh
is to have "indepth discussions" with Israeli President Ezer
Weizman, Prime Minister Ehud Barak and foreign minister David Levy, the
Indian External Affairs Ministry said.
In
Tel Aviv, Singh will inaugurate the dlrs 1.25 million Nehru Library
and Gandhi Students' Activities Center, to which India has contributed
books and money.
Singh's
program includes a visit to the Gaza cemetery where 32 Indian
peacekeeping soldiers are buried, the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and a
nearby Indian hospice run by Sheikh Munir Ansari from the Indian town of Sharanpur. |