"India is a global superpower": Israel's Foreign Minister calls for long-term strategic partnership with New Delhi

New Delhi [India], November 4 (ANI): Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, on his first visit to India, has described the country as a "global superpower" and said that Israel's goal is to build a long-term strategic partnership with New Delhi.

He made the remarks during his meeting with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar at Hyderabad House in the national capital on Tuesday.

"I believe that India is the future. I told you that. India is the world's largest democracy and the fastest growing economy. India is a global superpower. Israel is a regional powerhouse. Our nations already share a warm friendship. Our goal is to build a long-term strategic partnership between Israel and India," Sa'ar said.

He thanked Jaishankar for the warm hospitality and expressed appreciation for the solidarity with Israel. "We remember that he was the first world leader to call Prime Minister Netanyahu after Hamas October 7 massacre, and we won't forget it," he said.

Condemning the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, Sa'ar highlighted the shared threat of terrorism faced by both nations. "Radical terror is a mutual threat to Israel and India. We strongly condemn the horrific terror attack in Pargham. In the Middle East, Israel faces a unique phenomenon which I call terror states. The radical terror states of Hamas in Gaza, hezbollah in Lebanon, and Houthis in Yemen have established themselves over the past decades. Uprooting them is necessary for the security and stability of our region."

Speaking on the Gaza situation, he said, "The eradication of Hamas' terror state is at the heart of President Trump's plan. Hamas must be disarmed. Gaza must be demilitarized. We will not compromise on it."

Sa'ar also expressed optimism about future regional partnerships. "Israel supports regional connectivity projects such as I2U2 and IMEEC. We want to promote connectivity between South Asia, West Asia, and Europe," he said, thanking Jaishankar for his friendship in his concluding remarks.

EAM Jaishankar hailed the meeting with his Israeli counterpart, where the two leaders discussed strengthening the strategic partnership and reaffirmed their commitment towards all forms and manifestations of terrorism.

"An excellent meeting with FM @gidonsaar of Israel today in New Delhi. Productive discussions on strengthening our Strategic Partnership across various domains. Reaffirmed our zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Appreciate FM Sa'ar sharing the Israeli perspective on developments in the region, the Gaza Peace Plan and efforts to build a durable and lasting solution. Also exchanged views on our cooperation in multilateral fora. And witnessed the exchange of MoU on Training between @SSIFS_MEA and @IsraelMFA," Jaishankar wrote in a post on X.

Jaishankar reaffirmed India's strong ties with Israel, describing the relationship as one built on "a high degree of trust and reliability" and expressing support for the Gaza Peace Plan.

As part of his three-day visit, Saar also paid floral tributes at Teen Murti Haifa Chowk and met National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. The two leaders discussed cooperation in tackling common challenges, with a special focus on counterterrorism.

In a post on X, Sa'ar said, "Honored to meet the National Security Advisor of India, Ajit Doval, in New Delhi. We discussed ways to cooperate and confront our common challenges, especially the mutual threat of terror. We're building a long-term strategic partnership between Israel and India!"

Earlier, welcoming Sa'ar on his first official visit, Jaishankar noted, "India and Israel have a strategic partnership and particularly in our case, that term has a real meaning. We have stood together in testing times. And we have created a relationship with a high degree of trust and of reliability."

India and Israel signed a bilateral investment agreement in September this year.

The Agreement is expected to pave the way for increased bilateral investments between the two countries, which presently stands at a total of USD 800 million, benefiting businesses and economies in both countries. (ANI)

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