PM Modi welcomes friend Netanyahu with hug

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to the Delhi airport on Sunday to welcome Benjamin Netanyahu, the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit India in more than a decade. PM Modi hugged and shook hands with the Israeli leader, with whom he had developed a warm rapport during his visit to Israel last year. He also tweeted a photo of their meeting.

Accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, Netanyahu is in India on a six-day visit, during which the two nations hope to deepen ties in trade and defence. The Israeli PM will hold comprehensive talks with PM Modi and also visit his home state Gujarat, where the two leaders will hold a joint roadshow on Wednesday.

From the airport, Netanyahu and PM Modi went to Teen Murti Memorial to pay homage to soldiers who died in Haifa of World War The ceremony marked the formal renaming of Teen Murti Chowk as the Teen Murti Haifa Chowk, after the battle fought by Indian soldiers at the port city, which is now in Israel.

“Welcome to India, my friend PM @netanyahu! Your visit to India is historic and special. It will further cement the close friendship between our nations,” PM Modi tweeted.

In Delhi, Netanyahu will have dinner with PM Modi and meet Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. On Monday, he will call on President Ram Nath Kovind and have further meetings with PM Modi. On Tuesday, Netanyahu will visit the Taj Mahal and then attend the annual “Raisina Dialogue” geo-political conference. One of Netanyahu's stops on the trip will be in Mumbai, where he will meet with Bollywood stars on January 18. He will also visit PM Modi's home state Gujarat, where the two leaders will hold a roadshow.

Netanyahu's visit – the first by an Israeli premier since Ariel Sharon in 2003 – is seen as an effort to build on the decision taken last July to elevate ties to a “strategic partnership”.