To consolidate development of dialogue with neighbouring countries in accordance with unified and specified Arab positions, revival of collective Arab security protection institutions, and confirmation of its terms of reference stipulated in Arab covenants are some of the major objectives of the League of Arab States. During his recent visit to India, Mr Hesham Yousef, Chief of the Cabinet, which is led by Secretary General Mr Amre Moussa of the league, along with other members of his delegate had meetings with Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Mr E Ahmed and heads of business organisations, such as FICCI, ASSOCHAM, CII, etc. “Being from the region that admires India in all aspects of culture, trade, and economy, we are looking forward towards the expansion of relationship between the two regions”, Mr Yousef said. He further mentioned, “Culturally we are very close to India, so at any levels, maybe in politics, culture, or economy, we could build up strong ties between the two regions”.

The League of Arab States was founded with an objective of promoting and strengthening ties among the twenty-two member states as well as with other international communities at mutually understanding levels. The league has successfully served as forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions and discuss common interests in the field of politics, trades, economies, and culture. In the economic front, the league initiated an executive programme to create a free trade zone in the next ten years. “We proposed FICCI to organise an Arab-India forum, where people from different business firms of different countries could participate in the forum. It would also provide us the opportunities for exchange of trades and businesses among us”, Mr Yousef expressed.

Over the years, India and the Arab World have built up strong trade ties. Various Indian companies collaborated with Arab establishments in the fields of import, export, transport, finance, banking, and joint ventures. “In the last two to three years, the total trade volume between the two countries was just 7.5 billion dollar. But the figure in 2005-06 increased to 24 billion dollars. It shows a rapid development in trade between the two regions”, Mr Yousef said.

The league has concluded two important documents, such as Arab Agreement on Combating Terrorism and the draft agreement on turning the Middle East into a zone free of weapons of mass destruction. Talking about probable impediments in building bilateral relations with India, Mr Yousef stated that the Arab World has no obstacles in developing regional ties with India. He mentioned that the region focuses only on cordial bilateral activities based on trade, investment, and culture.

Currently led by the incredible effort of Secretary General Mr Amre Moussa, the League of Arab States played a major role in the conclusion reached by the International Court of Justice in pulling down the wall built by Israel in the occupied Palestine territory. At the international level, the league has been active in the Arab peace initiative calling for full Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories – Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon. The league has been a key player in working on the preservation and unity of Arab territories, supporting the Emirates to regain sovereignty over its three occupied islands. Declaring the role of the Arab World in combating international terrorism, Mr Yousef said, “Overall unity of all international communities could recognise and combat terrorism. It should not be a practice of one individual.”

Ever since the League of Arab gained its international status and has acquired ‘observer status’ with the United Nations along with several other organisations, the league has been stressing upon the importance of freeing the region from all kinds of destructive weapons. However, the league has emphasised on optimisation of the rights of all countries to possess peaceful nuclear energy under the international terms of reference and their emanating inspection and control regime. When asked by the media about the recognition of a group or individual as an international terrorist, Mr Yousef positively responded that the task of rating someone as a terrorist will not be an easy decision. He mentioned the examples of Hamas and Hezbollah considered by the US as terrorists, but they are not so in Arab because they have close contact with the governments. Mr Yousef also mentioned that the Arab World has promotional steps to enhance the relationship between India and Pakistan. And he supports the expansion of UN Security Council where India will be a new member in the council.