Jerusalem, February 26 Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday, focusing on strengthening bilateral ties in areas such as defence and security, trade, technology, and agriculture.
The two sides are also expected to discuss the prevailing situation in the Middle East.
India and Israel are also likely to discuss the implementation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the I2U2 framework (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
Ahead of his talks with Netanyahu, Prime Minister Modi met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Both leaders explored avenues to further enhance cooperation in education, startups, innovation, technology, and connectivity, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said about the Modi-Herzog meeting.
Prime Minister Modi arrived in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day visit, aiming to give a new impetus to the bilateral ties.
This is 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 the country in July 2017.
India and Israel share a robust strategic partnership with strong cooperation in areas such as science and technology, innovation, defence and security, trade and investment, agriculture, water, and people-to-people relations.
There has been an increase in India-Israel ties in recent years, including in areas such as 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 wide range of military platforms and weapon systems to India.
Trade and investment ties between the two sides are also progressing steadily.
During Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's visit to Israel 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 signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) to expand economic cooperation.
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 through government-to-government channels and private channels, according to officials.
