Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a three day, three nation visit to West Asia. He will first travel to Palestine on the 10th of February and then the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and end his trip in Oman.
PM Modi will be part of the stone laying ceremony for Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu Temple. A total of 20,000 square meters was granted by the UAE Government for the temple. The announcement for the land allocation was made during Modi’s first trip to the UAE in 2015.
The spokesperson from the Ministry of External Affairs, Raveesh Kumar stated this initiative by the UAE Government shows diversity and tolerance.
Oman will also be a religious related trip as PM Modi visits the ancient Shiva Temple in Muscat. It is believed the Shiva Temple was built 109 years ago by the merchant community from Gujarat who moved to Muscat centuries ago.
However, everyone is more inclined towards Modi’s half day visit in Palestine. This will be the first visit by a Prime Minister from India to Palestine. Modi will first take part at the memorial for Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat and lay a wreath. He will then hold talks in Ramallah. The two countries are also expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) on Palestine’s reconstruction and health.
