Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ramallah on February 10 for what will be the first-ever visit by an Indian prime minister to the Palestinian Authority (PA), The Times of India reported Thursday.
According to the report, the visit to Ramallah is part of the Indian government's efforts to "de-hyphenate" relations with Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
While India and the PA have been discussing the proposed visit for a while, this is the first confirmation of its date. The announcement of the visit came in the middle of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's visit to India.
While the modalities for the visit are still being worked out, government sources in New Delhi said Modi was likely to travel to Ramallah in a chopper from Amman in Jordan. He is scheduled to meet PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and other PA officials.
According to the report, Modi will not visit Jerusalem, much like he did not visit the PA during his visit to Israel this past July.
The visit will be significant for India as the government believes it will help dispel the notion that there has been any change in its policy towards the PA since Modi assumed office in 2014.
India's recent vote against the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital at the UN was intended to iterate its longstanding diplomatic position, according to The Times of India.
With the vote at the UN and now with Modi's visit to Ramallah, the government seems to be suggesting that its ties with Israel will not come at the expense of its relationship with the PA.