New Delhi [India], Feb 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first engagement after arriving in Ramallah on Saturday morning will be to lay a wreath at the Mausoleum of Late President Yasser Arafat. Prime Minister Modi will be accompanied by his Palestinian counterpart Rami Hamdallah. The Mausoleum of Yasser Arafat was unveiled on November 10, 2007 and is located adjacent to the compound of Presidential Headquarters (Al-Muqata'a).

After paying homage to Yasser Arafat at the Mausoleum, the Prime Minister will take a short tour, accompanied by Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, of the Yasser Arafat Museum located adjacent to the Mausoleum. Prime Minister Modi, who is on his maiden trip to Palestine, will be received by President Mahmoud Abbas before the ceremonial welcome in the compound of the Presidential Headquarters, also known as Muqata'a. Prior to Prime Minister Modi, former President Pranab Mukherjee and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had visited Palestine in October 2015 and January 2016 respectively. 

The Presidential Headquarters in Ramallah is the compound that encompasses the Office of the President, offices of Advisors to President, in addition to the headquarters of the Presidential Guard.  The Prime Minister will leave for the UAE tomorrow and then on the final leg, to Muscat on February 11, before returning to Delhi the following day. On February 9, Prime Minister Modi arrived in Jordan, which is his transit to Palestine. The prime minister’s office expressed gratitude to King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit. Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Palestine comes a month after India hosted Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.