Beach stroll by Benjamin Netanyahu, Narendra Modi causes internet waves

Jerusalem: A beach stroll by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu caused online waves on Thursday, with the two seen wading barefoot into the surf together.

The beach trip came on the last day of Mr Modi’s visit to Israel, the first-ever by an Indian Prime Minister. They had gone to the beach to see a demonstration of a mobile water desalination unit.

It was closed to journalists, but images distributed by the Israeli government showed the two walking together into the water barefoot at Olga beach in northern Israel.

Some on social media took Mr Netanyahu to task for not rolling his pant legs, with images showing them getting wet. Others joked about a budding “bromance”.

They later drove together in the mobile water desalination unit, which looked like a dune buggy, and sipped samples from wine glasses, toasting before they did.     

Modi and Netanyahu have sought to extend Indian-Israeli cooperation beyond the billions of dollars in defence deals between them during the three-day visit.

The two leaders presented a series of agreements for cooperation on satellite technology, water and agriculture, as well as the creation of a $40 million innovation fund.

Israel already sells India an average of $1 billion per year in military equipment. The country has also excelled at water and agriculture technology, which India has shown an interest in.

Modi's visit marks 25 years since India and Israel established diplomatic relations.