India should play a role in Middle East peace process, says President of Palestinian Authority Abbas

By NNN-PTI,

Ramallah : Describing Indian democracy a "role model" for the Palestinian people, President of Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas has said the country can play an important role in the Middle East peace process.

"India, the second largest populated nation in the world and the biggest democracy with a booming economy, including hi-tech, could play an important role in the Middle East peace process", Abbas told PTI in an interview a day before leaving for New Delhi.

"It maintains special relations with all the countries in our region, including the state of Israel, and can do a lot to push forward the peace process", the Palestinian leader said.

Urging India to actively engage in the process, he said the "security and stability of our region directly affects the stability of their region". India has appointed a special envoy for the region in view of this understanding.

Acknowledging the "unique, historic and strong" ties with India, the Palestinian leader said that people in Palestine see India as a "role model" and the bilateral relations are independent from political party in power in New Delhi.

"All Indian political parties support the Palestinian cause and we salute the Indian people and all the parties. India continues to be one of the pioneering countries in support of the Palestinian rights in international circles", Abbas emphasised.

"India is one of the first countries with which we exchanged diplomatic representation on the eve of the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority. It is also worth mentioning that India was one of the first states to recognise the PLO through opening a representation office on its soil and among the first to recognise the declaration of the state of Palestine in 1988", he pointed out.