New Delhi, February 26 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, held a meeting in Jerusalem on Thursday, discussing bilateral cooperation in areas such as technology and innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), critical minerals, defense and security, trade and economy, labor mobility and education, the blue economy, agriculture, and health.
The two leaders also announced elevating the relationship to "India-Israel Special Strategic Partnership for Peace, Innovation, and Prosperity."
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, and other officials were also present at the meeting.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), both countries also decided to elevate the Joint Commission on Science and Technology to a ministerial level; launch an initiative to collaborate on critical and emerging technologies led by National Security Advisors; hold financial dialogues; launch a tech gateway initiative; and establish 20 joint fellowships in agricultural research.
It was also decided to increase the contribution from both sides for joint research calls; increase the quota of up to 50,000 Indian workers over the next five years; hold an India-Israel Academic Cooperation Forum; and form an India-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group.
"Towards a strengthened and more comprehensive partnership! Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive bilateral talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Both leaders discussed the entire range of bilateral relations. Discussions included areas of technology and innovation, AI and critical minerals, defense and security, trade and economy, labor mobility and education, the blue economy, agriculture, and health. They also discussed issues of regional and global interest," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote on X.
"In a significant development, both leaders announced elevating the relationship to India-Israel Special Strategic Partnership for Peace, Innovation, and Prosperity. Several outcomes were also finalized, including in the areas of technology, science, trade, finance, AI, agriculture, the blue economy, labor mobility, education, and culture," he added.
The two sides exchanged several MoUs, including on cooperation in the field of geophysical exploration; for the development of the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) in Lothalat, Gujarat; a Cultural Exchange Programme for the period 2026-2029; between NPCI International (NIPL) and MASAV Israel on the implementation of UPI; between ICAR and MASHAV on the establishment of the India-Israel Innovation Centre for Agriculture (IINCA), etc.
India and Israel also signed a Declaration of Intent on cooperation in the field of Horizon Scanning; an MoU on Cooperation in the field of Fisheries and Aquaculture; an MoU between the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and the Israel Securities Authority (ISA); Implementation Protocols on Labour Mobility in the Commerce and Services Sector; Implementation Protocols on Labour Mobility in the Manufacturing Sector; Implementation Protocols on Labour Mobility in the Restaurant Sector; an MoU on the Cooperation in advancing Education through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI); an Agreement on Cooperation between the Israeli Institute of Commercial Arbitration (IICA) and the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA); an MoU between Nalanda University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI); and a Letter of Intent on the establishment of the Indo-Israel Cyber Centre of Excellence in India, and an MoU on cooperation in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi visited the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem and laid a wreath at the memorial in memory of the Holocaust victims.
Prime Minister Modi was accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan as he visited the Holocaust Memorial and Museum, which perpetuates and documents the Holocaust.
The visit included a tour of the Book of Names – a monumental installation containing the names of 4.8 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust – and a memorial ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance. Prime Minister Modi also signed the Yad Vashem guest book.
This was Prime Minister Modi's second visit to Yad Vashem, having also visited the memorial in July 2017 during his last visit to the country. Netanyahu had also accompanied Prime Minister Modi the last time he had toured the memorial in 2017.
Prime Minister Modi is currently on a two-day State Visit to Israel. He was accorded a grand welcome by Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Later, he addressed a Special Plenary of the Knesset in Jerusalem – the first such address by an Indian Prime Minister at the Israeli parliament.
