Abbas, Fayyad meet Indian minister in Ramallah

President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Wednesday met Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna in Ramallah. Abbas briefed Krishna on the PLO's recent talks with Israeli officials in Amman and expressed his willingness to resume peace negotiations if Israel stops building illegal settlements, the PA news agency Wafa reported. The president thanked the envoy for India's support in Palestine's application for full membership of the United Nations. Fayyad meanwhile briefed the minister on Palestine's development efforts and said Palestinians were inspired by Indian peace icon Mahatma Gandhi in their pursuit of non-violent resistance to occupation, the report said. Krishna also met with Israeli leaders during his visit. After meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Krishna said India was Israel's natural ally and that his visit was intended to expand bilateral relations. "I have come here basically to chart out a road map for the next two decades of India-Israel cooperation," he said. The two countries faced the common problem of terrorism, he added. "I think my visit primarily would be focusing on the economic content, security, terror – these are some of the issues which are commonly faced both by Israel as well as India. So I think we will have to work out a strategy as to how we address ourselves to the scourge of international terrorism which has become the curse for the entire humanity." Netanyahu said the countries were close to signing a free trade agreement "to multiply our trade and to increase the cooperation economically between India and Israel."