Netanyahu and Modi Praise ‘New Era’ in India-Israel Ties
India and Israel have hailed the “dawn of a new era” in their relations after signing key deals in the defence, agriculture and aviation sectors.
The deals were announced after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Delhi on Monday.
Mr Modi said he wanted Israeli defence companies to invest in India.
Mr Netanyahu’s visit comes a year after Mr Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel.
He arrived in Delhi on Sunday for a six-day visit along with a 130-member business delegation. The two countries also signed deals where they agreed to cooperate in areas including cyberdefence, security and science. Mr Modi said he wanted the two countries to “scale up” their partnership.
Mr Netanyahu said the two nations had great potential to work together to improve the lives of their citizens.
He also mentioned the 2008 Mumbai attacks in his statement. “Indians and Israelis remember too well the savagery of the horrific terrorist attacks. We fight back, we never give in,” he said.
He is accompanied by an Israeli boy, Moshe Holtzberg, whose parents were killed when gunmen stormed a Jewish centre in Mumbai during a 2008 terror attack. He was saved by his Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel, who was treated as a heroine in Israel where she settled with the boy after the attack.
The two leaders were careful to avoid comment on disagreements between the two nations. Mr Netanyahu played down India’s decision to vote in favour of a UN resolution opposing the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.