New Delhi: India’s decision to host a meeting of Arab foreign ministers on January 30–31 places New Delhi at the centre of a fast-evolving West Asian diplomatic moment, as global powers recalibrate their approaches to post-war Gaza. The meeting comes just as US President Donald Trump has announced the formation of a “Board of Peace” to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction, a move that has triggered fresh debate across the Arab world over governance, sovereignty and external oversight in the Palestinian enclave.
For India, convening Arab foreign ministers amid this flux underscores its growing diplomatic weight in West Asia and its careful balancing act —maintaining strong ties with Israel while retaining deep political, economic and people-to-people links with Arab states and consistent support for the Palestinian cause.
The Arab League, officially the League of Arab States, is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945, initially with seven members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and North Yemen. Currently, the League has 22 members. The League’s main goal is to “draw closer the relations between member states and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries”.
Though not officially confirmed, media reports suggest that the meeting on January 30-31 will draw representatives from all the Arab League nations. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, a former Egyptian foreign minister, will also be present.
The line-up includes foreign ministers of Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Sudan, Palestine, Somalia, Mauritania, Comoros and Libya. Saudi Arabia will send its vice-foreign minister. Confirmations are still awaited from Lebanon, Syria and Morocco. If Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani’s attendance is confirmed, it will mark the first the ministerial level interaction between New Delhi and Damascus since the formation of the government led by former Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
During the then Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa’s visit to India in December 2008, a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) was signed for the establishment of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum. In 2013, the MoC was revised to biennial ministerial and annual senior officials meeting involving all 22 member states and the Arab League Secretariat.
The first ministerial meeting of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum was held in 2016. The second meeting that was supposed to be held in 2019 could not be held due to scheduling issues and lack of coordination between Aab League member states.
It is in this context that the question arises as to why the second ministerial meeting of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum to be held.
According to Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, in the second decade of this century, the entire Arab world was in very serious disorder.
“The first reason was the Arab Spring uprising,” Ahmad explained,“The Arab Spring uprising had toppled four leaders. These were in two phases. One was at the beginning of the decade and one at the end of the decade. That was the number one reason for the churn.”
He said that there was counter-action also. In this connection, he referred to Egypt where the leader who had risen from the Arab Spring was overthrown and military rule was restored. That was the first action.
“The second reason for the turmoil was the American occupation in Iraq which had led to the rise of jihad and sectarianism,” Ahmad said. “So, there was a very conflictual scenario in Iraq. And, of course, the Islamic State was set up. The Islamic State was able to establish through violence its own zo-called state in Iraq and Syria.”
He said that there were also deep differences across the region between various Arab states, both between Arab states and non-Arab states. He said that Arab states were seeing Iran as a source of sectarian threat against them.
“Then there was the conflict that emerged in Syria,” Ahmad pointed out. “So, you have conflict in Iraq and you have conflict in Syria. Then, very quickly, at the end of the decade, you have the conflict in Sudan. Then you had of course the constant Israeli attacks on various Palestinian targets from time to time – in 2016, 2019. So, the whole region was in extreme turmoil.”
These apart, there was the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Now, with Trump setting up the “Board of Peace”, ostensibly for the reconstruction of Gaza, what is the significance of the meeting that India is hosting Arab League foreign ministers?
“The coming meeting has very little to do with the ‘Board of Peace’,” Ahmad said. “This is mostly connected with the importance that India attaches to its ties with various West Asian countries. It is a signal that India is deeply interested in matters relating to West Asia.”
However, at the same time, he said that one of the issues that will need to be discussed is the Palestinian aspirations in general and bringing peace to Gaza and the West Bank in particular. He is of the view that Trump has usurped the control of the Gaza conflict and situation and has set up the so-called “Board of Peace”.
“Many Arab countries are supporting Donald Trump because they feel that with their presence within the Board, they will be able to steer matters that would ensure that (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s maximalist programme is not enforced and implemented,” Ahmad said.