Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is all set to visit India on April 4. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart last met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow, UK, in November last year. The visit comes at a time when both countries are celebrating 30 years of establishment of diplomatic ties.
India and Israel established full diplomatic relations on January 29, 1992, and earlier this year a commemorative logo was launched to mark the occasion. The logo features the Star of David and the Ashoka Chakra and forms the numeral 30 depicting the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations.
February saw the iconic buildings in India— the Gateway of India in Mumbai and the Teen Murti Haifa Chowk in Delhi—and Israel’s Masada Fortress being lit up in Indian and Israeli flag colours. The Ukraine crisis will likely be discussed during the visit. Indian and Israeli PMs have engaged with Russian and Ukrainian leadership over the crisis.
PM Bennett was in Moscow in a surprise visit, while PM Modi and Russian President Putin have spoken three times since February 24, the day Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine started. Relations between India and Israel have been strengthened under PM Modi’s government.
Last year, several high-level dignitaries visited Israel, including External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar (October 2021), Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane (Nov 2021) and the former Air Chief RKS Bhadauria (August 2021). PM Modi had visited Israel in 2017, during which the relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership. In response, the then prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, visited India in 2018.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee paid a state visit to Israel in October 2015 while Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was in India in November 2016. Defence, agriculture, and trade, among others, have been the key pillars of the relationship between the two countries.
Indian forces have participated in the multilateral airforce exercise ‘Blue Flag 2021’ held in October in Israel. Both countries have restarted negotiations for the free trade agreement, which is expected to conclude by mid-2022. India is Israel’s third-largest trading partner in Asia and the seventh-largest globally.
The visit comes amid a number of high-level visits to New Delhi as the Covid crisis abates. The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio is currently in Delhi, and a number of ministers from other countries, including Austria, Oman, Greece, the UK, and Mexico, will also land in Delhi. India and China are discussing facilitating the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
