New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stand-alone visit to Israel—the first ever by an Indian prime minister to the Jewish state since the establishment of diplomatic relations 25 years ago—scheduled for July, India on Tuesday underlined its position as a committed development partner of Palestine and conveyed its “unwavering" support for the Palestinian cause.

The two sides also signed five pacts to boost cooperation in information technology (IT), health and agriculture, among other areas.

Speaking after talks with visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in New Delhi, Modi said: “India has been unwavering in its support of the Palestinian cause. And we hope to see the realization of a sovereign, independent, united and viable Palestine, coexisting peacefully with Israel."

Once seen as standing firmly for an independent state of Palestine and shunning diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, the Indian government established diplomatic relations with Israel in January 1992.

This was in the aftermath of the US and then Soviet Union co-hosting the Madrid conference with Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinians in October 1991. The conference created a long-missing framework for talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, though the meeting itself did not lead to any results.

India-Israel ties have in the meantime soared with the two nations working closely in areas like defence, IT, agriculture, water conservation and recycling. Besides Modi visiting Israel in July, there are hopes of a visit to India by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the close of the 25th anniversary year celebrations in January 2018.

Modi’s visit to Israel is aimed at qualitatively elevating ties to a new level. And Abbas’s visit—ahead of the Israel trip—is seen as India doing its balancing act, though in a new manner.

In his remarks, Modi said he and Abbas had agreed that “the challenges in West Asia must be addressed through sustained political dialogue and peaceful means".

On ties with Palestine, Modi said: “India is committed to be a useful development partner of Palestine...We will continue to support the development and capacity-building efforts of Palestine. The agreements concluded today are a reaffirmation of our intent to strengthen cooperation in this direction. We have also taken up for particular emphasis the areas of IT, youth and skills development in the assistance provided by India."

Abbas described India as a “friendly country" and “an ideal nation" that had achieved progress in technology and economy.

“India is a friend. It has influence at the international level. India can play an important role (in the resolving the Palestine-Israel crisis," he said.

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