Indian premie­r and Palest­inian presid­ent Abbas will sign cooper­ation agreem­ents worth $50 millio­n, report­s sugges­tNarendra Modi on Saturday became the first Indian prime minister to visit the West Bank for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as part of a Middle East tour. The visit, which comes weeks after Modi hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is seen as an Indian effort to balance its strengthening ties with the Jewish state. Modi set for ‘historic’ visit to PalestineThe Indian and Palestinian leaders were set to discuss issues including information technology, health and tourism during the brief visit, after which Modi will return to Jordan. Palestinian official Nabil Shaath said Modi and Abbas are to sign cooperation agreements worth $50 million. Modi became the first Indian leader in history to visit Israel in July last year, with the two states signing deals on cybersecurity and energy.

Source: The Express Tribune February 10, 2018 12:22 UTC