Tel Aviv/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday began a two-day visit to Israel, during which he will become the first Indian prime minister to address the Knesset, officials said, framing the trip as part of efforts to further strengthen strategic partnership between the two countries.
The visit, Modi’s second to Israel after his 2017 trip, comes amid shifting regional dynamics in West Asia and follows recent high-level discussions on defence, counter-terrorism and technology cooperation between New Delhi and Tel Aviv, according to Indian and Israeli officials.
According to sources, Modi is scheduled to land at Ben Gurion International Airport around 4 pm local time, following which he will hold a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
He is expected to address the Knesset at 8 pm, visit a technology and innovation exhibition later in the evening, and join Netanyahu for a private dinner, reports said.
In a statement on X ahead of his visit to Israel, Prime minister Modi said: I will be undertaking a State Visit to Israel today and tomorrow. Our nations share a robust and multifaceted Strategic Partnership. Ties have significantly strengthened in the last few years. I will be holding talks with PM Netanyahu, in which we will discuss ways to strengthen cooperation across diverse fields. I will also meet President Isaac Herzog, President of Israel”.
“This evening, I will be addressing the Israeli Parliament, Knesset. This is a tribute to the strong parliamentary and democratic ties that connect us. I will also interact with the Indian diaspora, who have made a big contribution in strengthening the India-Israel friendship,” he added.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Modi will visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust memorial set up in 1953 to commemorate six million Jews killed by the Nazis, before holding separate talks with President Isaac Herzog, officials said.
Delegation-level discussions with prime minister Netanyahu are slated later in the afternoon, to be followed by an exchange of memorandums of understanding and joint press statements, before an interaction with the Indian diaspora and the prime minister’s departure for New Delhi.
An upgraded security pact is among the key items expected to be discussed during the visit, with defence cooperation, intelligence-sharing and joint development of systems likely to figure in the talks, according to people familiar with the preparations.
Officials said the two sides are also working toward concluding a free trade agreement, building on a framework to resume negotiations agreed upon late last year, with both New Delhi and Jerusalem describing the pact as a priority for this year.
According to a government statement, the leaders will review progress in the India–Israel strategic partnership and explore additional cooperation in science and technology, innovation, defence and security, agriculture, water management, trade and economy, and people-to-people exchanges.
Israel counts India as one of its major trade partners in Asia, and both sides have highlighted complementarities in high-technology sectors, including artificial intelligence, cyber and quantum research, in recent official documents and statements.
