Israel’s new PM will focus on strategic, bilateral ties on first India visit

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, and also visit the Jewish community in the country, during his first visit to India in April.

The two leaders first met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow last October, where Modi invited Bennett to India. The Israel PMO said in a release that the purpose of the visit is to advance and strengthen the strategic alliance between the countries, and to expand bilateral ties.

“In addition, the leaders will discuss the strengthening of cooperation in a variety of areas, including innovation, economy, research and development, agriculture and more,” Bennett’s office said.

The visit will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the two countries. (India opened its embassy in Tel Aviv in 1992.) For years, the bilateral engagement revolved around defence and agriculture, but, in recent times, the relations have seen rapid growth across a broad spectrum of areas.

Bennett said that the “relations between our two unique cultures… are deep, and they rely on deep appreciation and meaningful collaborations”.

“There are many things we can learn from the Indians, and this is what we strive to do. Together we will expand our cooperation to other areas, from innovation and technology, security and cyber, to agriculture and climate change,” he added.