Palestinian President Yasser Arafat concluded his visit to India on Saturday by talking to President K.R. Narayanan about his hopes to declare a Palestinian state by September 13th, diplomats said.
A spokesman from the Palestinian embassy said the two leaders held talks for 30 minutes marking the end of Arafat's global tour aimed at seeking support for his faltering plan to declare a Palestinian state.
"Arafat after his world-wide trips has now left for home," the spokesman said.
Arafat late Friday night flew in from Tokyo following a brief stopover in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka and held closed-door talks with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New Delhi.
Indian government officials said talks between Arafat and the Indian leaders focused on the Middle East peace talks after last month's failed Camp David summit in the United States.
"Arafat also apprised President Narayanan of the efforts underway to garner international support for the Palestinian cause," an official from the presidential palace said.
The two also exchanged views on regional and international issues as well as those of mutual concern, he added.
Arafat, during his talks with the Indian leaders, said that France, Russia and China were among some 120 countries which supported an independent Palestinian state as envisaged by him.
India recognized Palestine as a sovereign state in November 1988 and set up bilateral diplomatic links the same year.
Arafat has enjoyed close ties with Indian national leaders over the decades – NEW DELHI (AFP)
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