New Delhi [India], January 30 (ANI): Libya's Foreign Minister Eltaher SM Elbaour arrived in New Delhi on Friday, marking his first visit to India.

He will participate in the India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting (IAFMM) and hold bilateral talks. His visit aims to strengthen India-Libya ties and explore areas of cooperation and mutual interest.

In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that his participation in the India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting (IAFMM) and engagements in New Delhi will build positive momentum for advancing our bilateral ties.

The meeting comes amid growing diplomatic efforts to strengthen India-Arab relations, with a focus on economic, energy, and security partnerships.

India and Libya have maintained strong bilateral relations since 1969, with cooperation in sectors such as oil and gas, power generation, and infrastructure development. Indian companies like BHEL, ONGC, and Oil India are involved in Libyan projects.

India will host the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting (IAFMM) on Saturday.

The meeting will be co-chaired by India and the UAE. Foreign Ministers of other Arab League Member States and the Arab League Secretary General will participate in the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting, according to a press release from the Ministry of External Affairs.

According to the release, the Foreign Ministers' meeting is taking place after a 10-year hiatus.

The first meeting was held in 2016 in Bahrain. At the first FMM, the Ministers identified five priority verticals of cooperation: economy, energy, education, media and culture and proposed a set of activities across these verticals.

The 2nd India-Arab FMM is expected to build on the existing cooperation, expanding and deepening the partnership.

The India Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting is the highest institutional mechanism driving this partnership, which was formalised in March 2002 when India and the League of Arab States (LAS) signed an MoU institutionalising the process of dialogue.

A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed to establish the Arab-India Cooperation Forum during the visit of the then Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa to India in December 2008, and was subsequently revised in 2013 to reflect a revised structural organisation. India is an Observer to the League of Arab States, a pan Arab body with 22 member States.

As per the release, this is the first India-Arab FMM to be hosted by India in New Delhi and will see participation by all 22 Arab countries by Foreign Ministers, other Ministers, Ministers of State and other Senior Officials and the Arab League. The IAFMM will be preceded by the 4th India-Arab Senior Officials' Meeting on Friday. (ANI)