NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his two-day Israel visit on Wednesday to upgrade bilateral ties and shore up defence and trade cooperation amid current tensions in the Mid-East region, his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that the “historic’’ visit will forge a new alliance to counter what he described as “radical” adversaries.
“In the vision I see before me, we will create an entire system, essentially a ‘hexagon’ of alliances around or within the Middle East,” the Israeli leader said. Calling India a “global power” and PM Modi a “personal friend”, Netanyahu said that the relationship between the two countries has “grown tighter”.
PM Modi’s engagements will include his address to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, a rare honour that underscores the political warmth between the two democracies. Earlier, former President Pranab Mukherjee had addressed the Knesset in 2015 during the first-ever visit by an Indian head of state to Israel.
He will have wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Netanyahu and a meeting with President Isaac Herzog.
“This visit will reaffirm the deep and long-standing strategic partnership between the two countries and will present an opportunity to review the common challenges as well as realign efforts towards achieving their shared vision for a robust partnership between two resilient democracies,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
“The two leaders will review the significant progress made in the India-Israel Strategic Partnership, and discuss further opportunities in various areas of cooperation, including science and technology, innovation, defence and security, agriculture, water management, trade and economy, and people to people exchanges,’’ the MEA said.
Netanyahu is scheduled to host a private dinner for Modi on Wednesday night.
It will be Modi’s second visit to Israel in nine years. The India-Israel relationship was elevated to the level of strategic partnership during Modi’s first visit to that country in July 2017. Netanyahu had made a return visit to India in January 2018.
PM Modi said on Sunday he was “looking forward” to discussions during the Israel visit. “India deeply values the enduring friendship with Israel, built on trust, innovation and a shared commitment to peace and progress,” he said in a post on social media platform X.
In their talks, the two prime ministers are also likely to deliberate on the prevailing situation in the Middle-East including in Gaza.
Following the outbreak of the Israel-Iran conflict in June last year, Netanyahu and Modi spoke twice on the phone.
There has been an upswing in the India-Israel ties in the last few years, including in the areas of defence, scientific research, cybersecurity and innovation.
The defence cooperation has emerged as an important pillar of the partnership between the two sides with Israel supplying a plethora of military platforms and weapon systems to India.
Last November, during the visit of India’s Defence Secretary to Israel, an important agreement on defence cooperation was signed.
As India is looking at developing an indigenous air defence shield called “Sudarshan Chakra”, it is learnt that New Delhi would like to explore the possibility of incorporating certain elements from Israel’s Iron Dome all-weather air defence system that can intercept and destroy missiles and artillery shells.
The trade and investment ties between the two sides are also witnessing steady progress. In September, the two sides had inked a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) to expand economic cooperation.
The people-to-people ties between the two countries are also an important aspect of the overall relations, with the over 41,000-strong Indian diaspora playing a key role in the two-way engagement.
In November 2023, India and Israel signed a bilateral framework agreement to facilitate the temporary and legal employment of Indian workers in Israel. Since then, 20,000 Indians have arrived in Israel, both under the government-to-government route and through private channels, according to officials.
As part of intense engagement between the two sides, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal have both visited Israel in recent months. Israel also sent a large government and private-sector delegation to the just-concluded AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, highlighting growing convergence in emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence.