External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to visit Palestine and Israel on 17-18 January.
The visit comes about three months after President Pranabh Mukherjee visited the two countries in October 2015.
Palestine
Palestine will be the minister's first destination during the trip on Sunday, 17 January, highlighting India's priority to the country. Swaraj will fly to Israel later in the day and remain there till Monday, 18 January.
Swaraj will meet with the Palestinian leadership and review bilateral ties between the countries in a bid to deepen mutual understanding at the political level.
The visit will ensure India, which actively contributes through capacity-building and human-resource-development initiatives, will extend continued political, diplomatic and developmental support to Palestine.
The external affairs minister will also inaugurate the Palestine Digital Learning & Innovation Centre in Ramallah.
Israel
The Israel visit will be aimed at augmenting India's bilateral relations with the country. India's ties with Israel are multi-faceted and independent of its relations with any other country in the Middle East.
The two countries maintain close relation in the fields of defence, agriculture, science & technology and education.
Besides meeting with the leadership, Swaraj will also interact with the Indian diaspora in the country.
Swaraj will be accompanied by Secretary (East) and other officials from Ministry of External Affairs.
