The Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lounas Magrmane, headed the Algerian delegation participating in the second session of the Ministerial Meeting of the Arab-Indian Cooperation Forum, held in the Indian capital (New Delhi) on January 30-31, 2026.
Prior to the start of the forum, the Secretary General met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a welcome ceremony held by the latter in honor of the heads of the participating Arab delegations. On this occasion, Mr. Lounas Makrman affirmed Algeria's desire to strengthen cooperation with India, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, and to facilitate the transfer of Indian expertise and technology.
This session provided an opportunity to review the state of Arab-Indian relations and discuss issues of mutual interest with a view to broadening them within the framework of a strategic vision that seeks to integrate economic, political, and cultural dimensions into comprehensive and integrated cooperation.
In his speech at the opening session of the forum, the Secretary-General noted the remarkable development of the Arab-Indian partnership in recent years, both in terms of the intensity of political meetings and the diversity of areas of cooperation. He also highlighted the urgent importance of adopting a realistic and responsible approach in assessing what has been achieved since the launch of the Arab-Indian partnership in 2008.
He also stressed the need to give greater importance to the political dimension of the Arab and Indian sides within a structured framework for consultation on regional and international issues of common interest, , foremost among which is the Palestinian issue, which remains fundamental for Algeria, in addition to issues of regional security and the fight against terrorism, violent extremism, and hate speech.
Mr. Lounas Magramane took advantage of this meeting to praise the unique nature of Algerian-Indian relations, given their historical depth and diversity, which was evident in India's support for the Algerian people's struggle against colonialism and in their shared positions within the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77, in defense of national independence and the right of peoples to self-determination.
The Secretary-General also praised the qualitative leap in Algerian-Indian relations in many areas, reflecting the desire of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his Indian counterpart, Ms. Droupadi Murmu, particularly following the latter's visit to Algeria in October 2024, which marked a new milestone in the process of intensifying and diversifying the bilateral strategic partnership between the two friendly countries.