Israel PM Naftali Bennett to visit India on April 2

Sandeep Dikshit

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New Delhi, March 20

Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will visit India next month at a time when geopolitics in West Asia is in a flux due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Abraham Accords that restored diplomatic ties between Tel Aviv and several Arab nations.

The visit is planned for April 2 and is intended to mark 30 years of relations between Israel and India, announced Bennett’s office on Saturday.

“The relations between our two unique cultures — the Indian culture and the Jewish culture — are deep, and they rely on deep appreciation and meaningful collaborations. There are many things we can learn from India, and that is what we hope to do. Together, we will broaden our cooperation to more areas, from innovation and technology to security and cyber to agriculture and climate,’’ it quoted Bennett as saying.

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 innovation, economy, research and development, agriculture and more. During his visit, Bennett will meet PM Modi and other senior government officials, as well as visit the Jewish community in the country, said the statement.

Besides excellent bilateral ties especially in the area of security, which suffered a blip due to the Pegasus controversy, the two countries are also part of the West Asian economic Quad along with the US and the UAE. Significantly, like India, Israel and the UAE have expressed their reservations with Russia’s military action in Ukraine but have refrained from complete endorsement of the Western position and approach to the conflict.

PM Modi, said Bennett, is the person “who re-accelerated the relations between India and Israel, which have historical importance. These are deep ties between two unique cultures…that are based on deep appreciation and significant cooperation.’’

Bennett said the hi-tech company he ran 20 years ago was merged with an Indian company, and that Israelis and Indians have worked well together and have much to learn from one another. “Our goal is to continue the wonderful path you led with my predecessor and bring it to a new level to ensure that both countries work together on innovation, technology, space, security, agriculture, food technology and of course climate technology,’’ he stated.