New Delhi [India], January 13 (ANI): India and the Arab League States have vowed to deepen cooperation against terrorism and ensure freedom of navigation and maritime security.

During the third senior officials meeting of Arab-India Cooperation Forum held on Tuesday, the officials recalled the historic and civilizational ties that exist between the Arab World and India and underlined the contribution of the commercial and cultural ties binding the two sides together.

The meeting was co-chaired by Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary (CPVOIA) and Ambassador Mohamed Abu Al-Kheir, Assistant Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative of Egypt to the League of Arab States with participation of senior officials from the Arab States and India, as well as the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States.

"The Senior Officials discussed issues of mutual concern on both regional and international levels, emphasizing the importance of strengthening cooperation and coordination mechanisms between the two sides, in a way that serves mutual interests and maintains regional and international peace and security," read the official statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

It further said, "They reiterated the need for political solutions to regional issues and crises in the Middle East, according to relevant international legitimacy resolutions and relevant agreements and references, particularly the Palestinian Issue, the crises in Syria, Libya and Yemen, and underscored the need for cooperation in combating terrorism and ensuring freedom of navigation and maritime security, according to the principles of international law."On the Covid-19 pandemic, India and the pan-Arab world discussed about ongoing collaboration in the fields of diagnostics and treatment and exchanged views on respective national approaches to post-Covid economic recovery.

They agreed on early scheduling of the joint activities of the Forum, including the 3rd Session of Arab-India Cultural Festival, the Symposium on Arab-India Cooperation in the field of Energy, the 1st Arab-India University Presidents Conference, the 2nd Symposium on Arab-India Cooperation in the field of Media, and the 6th Session of Arab-India Partnership Conference. (ANI)