In a bid to strengthening bilateral partnership with India's old friend nation, India has decided to help Palestine through all means. Moving in this regard, Prime Minister Manmohan Tuesday announced to an assistance of $10 million to Palestine's budget for this year to help address its financial requirements.
Prime Minister made this announcement after signing three bilateral pacts - the areas of information and communication technology, vocational training and education with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is at present in New Delhi for his three-day long state visit.
During his talks, Manmohan Singh reiterated India's support for a sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in peace with Israel.
"Support for the Palestinian cause has been a cornerstone of India's foreign policy," he told reporters at a joint press conference with Abbas.
"India had played an active role in supporting the efforts of the State of Palestine to secure full membership status at Unesco. We will continue to support Palestine's bid for full and equal membership of the United Nations," he said.
An ardent supporter of Palestine in multilateral fora, India has robustly supported the Palestinian application for UN membership in 2011.
Given India's huge stakes in peace and stability in the West Asian region, home to six-million strong Indian diaspora, Manmohan Singh backed an early resumption of peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis and hoped for a comprehensive resolution between the two sides.
The situation in West Asia, which is in a flux due to the festering Syrian crisis and other developments, figured prominently in the discussions.
"We both agree that the developments in the region must be addressed through political dialogue and peaceful means without recourse to violence and outside interference, while taking into account the legitimate aspirations of all people," said Manmohan Singh.
--With IANS Inputs--
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