New Delhi, February 24 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a two-day visit to Israel beginning Wednesday to strengthen bilateral defence and trade cooperation amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, including deteriorating ties between the US and Iran.
Modi's engagements will include his address to Israel's parliament, extensive talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin 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 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.
It is learnt that boosting overall defence and security cooperation will be a major area of discussion during delegation-level talks between the two prime ministers on Thursday.
Netanyahu is scheduled to host a private dinner for Modi on Wednesday evening.
This 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. India and Israel share a robust strategic partnership with strong cooperation in science and technology, innovation, defence and security, trade and investment, agriculture, water, and people-to-people relations.
"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 in a statement.
It said the leaders are also expected to exchange perspectives on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
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, Netanyahu and Modi spoke twice on the phone.
On October 9, Modi called Netanyahu and congratulated him on the progress made under President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan.
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.
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.
In November last, 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.
During the visit to Israel of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in November, the terms of reference (ToR) for the launch of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and Israel were signed.
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 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.