India hopes Palestine will soon be a free country: Modi

Ramallah (West Bank): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on his historic visit to that country and the two sides signed agreements worth around $50 million, which include setting up of a $30 million super-specialty hospital. Abbas received Modi at an official ceremony at the presidential compound, also known as Muqata'a, in Ramallah, the Palestinian seat of government. Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to make an official visit to Palestine.

After their talks, Prime Minister Modi said that he assured President Abbas that India is committed to the Palestinian people's interests. He said that India hopes for the return of peace in the region. "We know that it's not easy, but we should keep striving because a lot is at stake," he said at a joint press conference with President Abbas. On his part, President Abbas acknowledged that the Indian leadership has always stood by peace in Palestine.

The two sides signed agreements worth $50 million, including the construction of a centre for empowering women worth $5 million. Three agreements in the education sector worth $5 million and for procurement of equipment and machinery for the National Printing Press in Ramallah were also signed.

Earlier, the two leaders exchanged hugs and stood for the national anthem of the two countries and then inspected the guard of honour before their bilateral talks. Archbishop of Catholic Church, Poulos Marcuzzo, and religious leaders of the Al-Aqsa mosque were also at the Muqata'a to greet Modi.

Modi flew in a Jordanian army helicopter straight from Amman to Ramallah, where he was received by his Palestinian counterpart Rami Hamdallah. Prime Minister Modi's chopper was escorted by choppers from Israel Air Force. "This is a historic visit that will lead to stronger bilateral cooperation," Modi said shortly after landing.

Soon after his arrival, Prime Minister Modi visited the Mausoleum of Yasser Arafat in Ramallah and laid a wreath at the grave of the iconic Palestinian leader. He was accompanied by his Palestinian counterpart Hamdallah. The mausoleum was unveiled on November 10, 2007 and is located adjacent to the Palestinian Presidential compound, also known as Muqata'a here.

After paying homage to Arafat, Modi took a short tour of the Arafat Museum located adjacent to the mausoleum. During his maiden visit to Israel last year, Modi did not travel to Ramallah. His standalone visit to Israel had led to analysts questioning the future of the Indo-Palestine ties.

This time Modi skipped Israel in a clear message that India is de-hyphenating its ties with Israel and Palestine. Modi's visit to Palestine comes amid heightened tensions in the region after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.