India grants diplomatic status to Palestinians

By With Analysis from Monitor Correspondents around the world; Edited by Ruth Walker

March 27, 1980

New Delhi

The Indian government announced Wednesday that it was granting full diplomatic status to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) mission in New Delhi. External Affairs Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao told Parliament that PLO leader Yasser Arafat would pay an official visit to India starting Friday, symbolizing "not merely Indo- Palestinian friendship but also Indo- Arab solidarity."