Narendra Modi will travel to Oman, UAE and Palestine in February

New Delhi: Just days after the ASEAN Summit ends in the Capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to embark on a three-nation West Asian tour of the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Palestine in the second week of February. PM Modi, who is currently in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF), is also expected to showcase the strengths and opportunities of the Indian economy for global investors, in the UAE where, according to reports in the UAE media, he is expected to attend the World Government Summit in Dubai from February 11 to 13.

But it is PM Modi's visit to Palestine, likely on February 10, that will perhaps be the most eagerly-awaited leg of his three-nation visit as it will come soon after the visit to India of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The forthcoming visit to Palestine is also the latest indicator of India's desire to balance its ties with both Israel and Palestine.

Like at Davos, PM Modi is expected to make a strong pitch for investment from the UAE when he visits the country. It may be recalled that last January, India and the UAE on Wednesday signed 14 pacts in key areas like defence, security, trade and energy apart from a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement amid the assertion by PM Modi that cooperation stands poised for a "major take off". The UAE had also prior to that committed to a US$ 75 billion investment fund and India is expected to push strongly for investment from the oil-rich Arab country. “I particularly welcome the UAE's interest in investing in India's infrastructure sector. We are working to connect the institutional investors in UAE with our National Investment and Infrastructure Fund,” PM Modi had said last January.

On the Palestinian issue, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had earlier this month informed Parliament in a written reply that “the solution to the Palestinian issue should be based on relevant UN Resolutions.”