Abdullah bin Zayed chairs UAE s delegation to First Ministerial Meeting of the India Arab League Cooperation Forum 3rdd add

17. They affirmed the importance of supporting the reconstruction and stability in Afghanistan and expressed their support for a genuine Afghan owned Afghan led and Afghan controlled reconciliation process towards the emergence of a peaceful stable and strong Afghanistan.

18. The two sides expressed condemnation and resentment of the kidnapping of a number of Qataris in the South of Iraq as it constitutes violation of their human rights. They also expressed full solidarity with the Government of the State of Qatar and support for the measures it takes to secure their release. They expressed the hope that the communications carried out by the State of Qatar with the Republic of Iraq will yield positive results towards securing their safety and immediate end of their captivity.

19. The two sides expressed concern at the kidnapping of 39 Indian workers in Mosul in Iraq in June 2014 and 3 Indian workers in Sirte in Libya in June 2015. The Arab side expressed full solidarity with India in all efforts for their early release from captivity.

Global issues: 20. The sides called for an urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council through expansion in both permanent and non-permanent membership to reflect contemporary reality. They agreed that the current structure of the UN Security Council was not representative of a majority of the people of the world but continued to perpetuate a system that was anachronistic.

21. The two sides noted the pioneering role played by the Arab countries and the Republic of India in the peace-keeping field as they are one of the largest contributors with forces and partnership in the United Nation's missions. They called for expanding the participation of the countries participating with forces and allowing them a greater role in decisions-making in the peace-keeping domain. Both sides expressed desire to expand joint cooperation in peace-keeping field including training.

22. The two sides intensify bilateral coordination and coordination with the Arab Member State in the Security Council with the aim of reinforcing UNSC credibility and for a balanced handling of all the causes on its agenda.

23. The two sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and rejecting associating terrorism with any religion culture or ethnic group emphasized the need for concerted regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and to address its causes and to develop a strategy to eliminate the sources of terrorism and extremism including its funding as well as combating organized cross-border crime. They supported the efforts of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee [CTC] and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism [CCIT] at the earliest. They welcomed in this context the UNSCR 2170 (2014) and 2178 (2014). The sides supported the activities of the International Center for Counter-Terrorism under the auspices of the United Nations with the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques the Late King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They commended the work of the Africa Center for Studies and Research on Terrorism in Algeria and welcomed the outcome of the International Conference on Fighting Extremism hosted by Algeria on 22-23 July 2015. The sides welcomed the joint presidency of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Netherlands of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF). They welcomed the initiative launched by the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt at the High Level of the 70th Session of the UNGA titled: "Hope and Action for a New Direction" (HAND) to counter Extremism and Terrorism. The sides welcomed the outcome of the International Conference on Fighting Extremism hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain in November 2014. They welcomed the outcome of the workshop on Charitable Donations and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Violent Extremism hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain in November 2015. They welcomed the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards forming an Islamic coalition to combat terrorism.

24. The Arab side aspires to an effective Indian role in cooperation with Arab States to enhance peace and security at the regional and international level.

25. The sides reaffirmed their commitment to verifiable and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament and the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and other WMDs in an irreversible manner and agreed to strengthen collaboration to achieve this important objective according to relevant UN Resolutions. In this regard they particularly emphasized the importance of holding the postponed 2012 conference regarding the establishment of a Middle East as a zone free of nuclear and all other weapons of mass destruction which will enhance regional and international security and stability. They agreed that nuclear disarmament can be achieved through a practical step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed multilateral framework.

26. They welcomed the granting of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding Award to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain in recognition of his contributions and role in promoting meaningful dialogue among religions and cultures and mutual respect between all peoples and communities as well as building trust and understanding and renunciation of hatred. The sides welcomed the outcomes of the Cultures and Civilizations Dialogue Conference hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain in May 2014.

27. The sides welcomed the outcomes of the 4th GCC-India Business Forum hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in November 2015.

28. They reaffirmed the necessity for both sides to coordinate their positions on the issue of developing states' debts.

Bilateral cooperation: The two sides discussed ways and means to enhance cooperation in economic social and cultural fields and asserted on the following: 29. They expressed satisfaction with the progress made to date in the Executive Program of the Forum for the years 2014 and 2015 including holding: the 1st session of The Senior Officials Meeting on 7/11/2014 in New Delhi the 2nd session of the Arab-India Cultural Festival on 20-27/11/2014 in Algeria the 4th Session of Arab-India Partnership Conference on 26-27/11/2014 in New Delhi and the Symposium on Arab-Indian Cooperation in the field of Media on 20-24/8/2014 in New Delhi.

30. The sides stressed the importance of developing bilateral cooperation through concrete efforts in specific sectors aimed towards medium to long term sustainability of the partnership. They affirmed the commitment to implement the Executive Program of the Forum for the years 2016 and 2017 in order to push forward the cooperation in different fields including holding: the 5th Session of Arab-India Partnership Conference in May 2016 in Oman the 3rd session of Arab-India Cultural Festival in 2016 in India the 2nd symposium on Arab-Indian Cooperation in the field of Media in one of Arab countries the Arab-Indian University Presidents Conference in 2016.

31. Both sides recognized the need to hold more people-to-people interactions between the two sides particularly exchanging youth delegations to share experiences and ideas about each other's culture and traditions. It was also agreed to promote exchange of women's delegations with a view to promote women empowerment.

32. They emphasised continuing political consultations between the two sides to coordinate positions on regional as well as global political and economic issues in order to better articulate the views of the developing nations and to this end to increase consultations on specific topics and issues between the respective Ministries and Departments.

33. They expressed desire to strengthen future cooperation in economic trade and investment within the framework of the existing mechanisms and further developing these mechanisms.

34. In view of the great importance the two sides attach to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of Energy they expressed hope to reach a memorandum of understanding in the field of Energy in order to enhance cooperation in this field especially in the field of renewable Energy.

35. Both the sides desire to strengthen cooperation in the fields of Science and Technology Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Environment Agriculture and Food Security Tourism Health and establishing the necessary mechanisms to enforce cooperation in these fields to achieve common interest of India and Arab countries.

36. Both the sides are keen to enhance cooperation in the fields of social development especially to end poverty support small-size businesses and producing families family and childhood development and rehabilitation of disabled and old people.

37. Both the sides emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation between Non Governmental Organizations through enhancing exchanges between the two sides on several levels such as academic scientific cultural art literature Media training and human resources fields in order to enhance mutual understanding between Arab and Indian people.

38. The two sides expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the Kingdom of Bahrain for hosting the 1st India-Arab Ministerial Meeting and for the warm and gracious hospitality extended to all the delegations and for the good preparations which contributed to the success of this meeting. They also welcomed holding the 2nd India-Arab Ministerial Meeting of the Forum in India.