A meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs was held at Parliament House on Friday. The meeting discussed relations between India and China, Israel and Palestine, and India and Canada. Opposition lawmakers demanded clarification of the government’s stance on Israel and Palestine, as well as clarification of agreements reached in the India-China dispute. The Foreign Secretary answered questions from members of Parliament on behalf of the central government.
At the meeting, the Foreign Secretary introduced the Indian government’s position and role on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He said India has a long-standing relationship with Israel and Palestine. India is concerned about the humanitarian issues arising from the war between Hamas and Israel. India advocates a peaceful solution. Explaining India’s position on the Palestinian issue, the Indian Foreign Minister said that the Indian government has repeatedly stated that India’s position is in favor of Palestine. The Indian government is providing humanitarian assistance to Palestine.
Canada did not respond
At the meeting, some opposition MPs also raised the issue of the recent deterioration in relations between India and Canada, but the Foreign Secretary did not make any remarks on this. The issue of the border dispute with China was also mentioned, with the Foreign Secretary saying that efforts were being made to restore the situation before 2020. He said he would respond to members individually. Recently, the governments of India and China reached an agreement to end the situation in eastern Ladakh by 2020.
Shashi Tharoor serves as Chairman of the Committee
The command of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee rests with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. There are 16 standing committees under the House of People and 16 standing committees under the House of Federation. Each committee has 31 members, 21 from the House of Commons and 10 from the House of Federation. These members are nominated by the Speaker of the House of Commons and the President of the House of Federation on the recommendation of their respective political parties.
