India Participates as Observer in Board of Peace Meeting, Reaffirms Support for Gaza Peace Efforts
MEA Clarifies Stand on West Bank Joint Statement and Palestine Issue
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that India participated as an observer country in the first meeting of the Board of Peace held in Washington on Thursday and reiterated its continued support for efforts to bring peace to Gaza under the relevant UN Security Council resolution.
Speaking at a weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We attended the Board of Peace meeting in Washington DC as an observer. We have welcomed President Trump’s Gaza peace plan initiative and also support all efforts being undertaken under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803.”
The first meeting saw participation from representatives of over 40 countries, including several heads of state. India was represented by Chargé d’Affaires Namgya Khampa from the Indian Embassy in Washington DC.
Clarifying India’s position on a joint statement that expressed concern over Israel’s “unilateral” actions in the occupied West Bank, Jaiswal noted that the document was not a negotiated text, as is customary at the UN. He added that India’s position on the matter had already been articulated in the recent India–Arab League Ministerial Joint Statement.
He was referring to the ‘Delhi Declaration’ issued after the second India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held on January 31. The meeting was attended by foreign ministers of Arab countries and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, following the India–Arab Senior Officials’ Meeting on January 30.
On the Palestine issue, the declaration reaffirmed both sides’ commitment to achieving a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the Middle East in accordance with international law, relevant UN resolutions, and the Arab Peace Initiative. It called for the establishment of a sovereign, independent, and viable State of Palestine based on the 1967 borders, living side by side in peace with Israel. The declaration also reiterated support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
