From the Liveblog of
Saturday, January 31, 2026
India hosts Arab League foreign ministers in push to deepen trade, strategic ties
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleNEW DELHI — India hosted a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers today in a concerted push to deepen engagement in trade, energy and strategic cooperation as tensions rise in the Middle East.
India and the United Arab Emirates co-chaired the talks, with foreign ministers and senior officials from all 22 Arab League member states attending. It was the first such gathering in New Delhi that followed a decade-long hiatus since the inaugural forum was held in Bahrain in 2016.
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar says in his opening remarks that the global order is undergoing a transformation for a variety of reasons, including conflicts. “Nowhere is this more apparent than in West Asia or the Middle East, where the landscape itself has undergone a dramatic change in the last year. This impacts all of us,” Jaishankar says.
An Indian analyst says New Delhi’s outreach to Arab nations reflected its efforts to position itself as a reliable economic and diplomatic partner at a time of geopolitical rivalries and disruptions to global supply chains.
“This is an effort by India to project a sense of partnership with the Arab world when regional fault lines are sharpening,” says Harsh Pant, vice president of foreign policy at New Delhi-based think tank the Observer Research Foundation.
India’s trade with Arab League countries exceeds $240 billion annually, driven largely by energy imports such as crude oil and liquefied natural gas.
The Times of Israel Community.