Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) take part in the inaugural session of the foreign ministers’ conclave of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi, on Thursday.
Sushma Swaraj has been invited by UAE as the guest of honour at the Islamic meet to be held on March 1 and 2. The invitation was opposed by Pakistan who threatened to boycott the meet over the Indian minister’s participation. The visit comes at the time when tensions between Indian and Pakistan are on an all-time high as one Indian Air Force pilot remains in the custody of Pakistan.
On Wednesday, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had threatened the OIC that he won’t attend the meet owing to the invitation being extended to Sushma Swaraj.
“Under the current circumstances, it will not be possible for me to attend OIC meeting where Sushma Swaraj is present,” Qureshi had said to Geo TV.
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The invitation for the event was extended by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the UAE, and accepted by Sushma Swaraj. Extending the invitation, the UAE Foreign Ministry said the “friendly Republic of India” had been invited as the guest of honour for “all its international political weight and diverse cultural heritage and an important Islamic component.”
Responding to the invitation, Indian Ministry of External Affairs had said, “We see this invitation as the desire of the enlightened leadership of the UAE to go beyond our rapidly growing close bilateral ties and forge a true multifaceted partnership at the multilateral and international level.”
The MEA also added that the invitation will be seen as a milestone in a comprehensive strategic partnership with UAE.
(With inputs from ANI)