Modi Begins Two-Day Israel Visit Today; Defence, FTA High on Agenda

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin a two-day state visit to Israel starting Wednesday. Soon after landing in Tel Aviv, he will hold an informal discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who will also host a private dinner for him. Modi will address the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, during the day

On Thursday, Modi will meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog. He will start the day with a visit to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem, following which he is expected to return to Tel Aviv for formal delegation-level talks with Netanyahu. Later in the day, Modi will interact with eminent members of the Indian-Jewish community in Israel before emplaning for New Delhi.

Meanwhile, India and Israel have started the first round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) and will end on February 26, an official statement said on Tuesday. In November last, the two countries signed the terms of reference (ToR) to start the negotiations. In 2024-25, India's exports to Israel dipped 52 per cent to $2.14 billion from $4.52 billion in 2023-24. Imports fell 26.2 per cent to $1.48 billion last fiscal year. India is Israel's second-largest trading partner in Asia.

Though bilateral merchandise trade is dominated mainly by diamonds, petroleum products, and chemicals, recent years have witnessed an increase in trade in areas such as electronic machinery and high-tech products, communications systems, and medical equipment.

This will be Modi’s second visit to the Jewish nation after his landmark first visit in 2017 during his first term in office, the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Israel. In a statement on Tuesday evening, New Delhi said that during the talks between Modi and Netanyahu, the “two leaders will review the significant progress made in the India-Israel strategic partnership and discuss further opportunities in various areas of cooperation, including science and technology, innovation, defence and security, agriculture, water management, trade and economy, and people-to-people exchanges”.

According to New Delhi, Modi and Netanyahu are also expected to exchange perspectives on regional and global issues of mutual interest. The situation in Gaza is expected to feature prominently during the deliberations.

“This visit will reaffirm the deep and long-standing strategic partnership between India and Israel and will present an opportunity to review the common challenges as well as realign efforts towards achieving their shared vision for a robust partnership between two resilient democracies,” New Delhi further said.

India and Israel will deepen their defence partnership by updating their security agreements during the forthcoming visit of Mr Modi so that both nations can work on (defence) technological solutions together, Israeli ambassador to India Reuven Azar had said earlier on Monday.

The Israeli ambassador also said that both India and Israel also hope to ink a free trade agreement (FTA) later this year after their bilateral investment treaty inked last year. He added that both nations will strengthen cooperation in sectors including AI and quantum.