New Delhi: Abed Elrazeg Abu Jazer, Charge d’affaires of the Palestine Embassy in New Delhi, condoled the death of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, describing him as a “wise politician and economist, and a humble human being”.

On Thursday, December 26, Singh’s death was confirmed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, where he was admitted to the Emergency Ward about 8.30 pm in a severe condition after “sudden loss of consciousness”. He passed away at the age of 92.

In a statement on Friday, December 27, Jazer said, “India has lost a wise politician and economist and a humble human being who combined copious experiences, where all his valuable contributions added to the balance of India, its global status and its distinguished presence.”

He recalled the fond memories of Singh with Palestinian leaders. “Palestinian leaders have met with Manmohan Singh multiple times, including with Yasser Arafat, chairman of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, during his visit to India in 1992, when he was minister of finance in the government Shri P V Narasimha Rao, before the Oslo agreement with Israel in 1993,” he said.

Jazer said that after the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on November 11, 2004, then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh issued an official statement in which he mourned the Palestinian leader Arafat, who had distinguished relations with India.

He added that the death of leader Yasser Arafat was a tragedy for India and for all friends of the Palestinian cause around the world.

“After his elected to succeed President Yasser Arafat in January 2005, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas paid his first state visit to India on May 19, 2005, and he met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.”

During his visit, a plot for the Palestinian Embassy has also been gifted by India to the PLA.

In 2008, Abbas and Singh laid the foundation stone of the chancery-cum-residence complex of the embassy of Palestine and formally dedicated the building “to the people of Palestine as a gift from the people of India” in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.

“The allocation of the land and the contribution to the establishment of the embassy of the state of Palestine to India was an important, distinctive and bright step in the history of bilateral relations between the two countries,” Jazer added.

In 2012, Abbas along with Singh inaugurated the new Palestinian Embassy building in New Delhi, symbolizing the enduring friendship between the two countries and their peoples.

At that time, Singh emphasised India’s support for the Palestinian cause, stating that it is a cornerstone of its foreign policy and aims for a sovereign, independent, viable, and united Palestinian state.