PM Modi receives red carpet welcome in Tel Aviv as he begins two-day visit to Israel

Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday to a redcarpet welcome with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and wife Sara receiving the Indian leader at the Ben Gurion airportIt is PM Modis second visit to Israel in nine years The IndiaIsrael relationship was elevated to the level of strategic partnership during his first visit to that country in July 2017Netanyahu greeted the Indian prime minister with a warm hug following which Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the airport located 20 kilometres southeast of Tel AvivThe Indian prime minister will address Israels parliament later in the day and will have a teteatete with Netanyahu The two leaders will hold wideranging talks on Thursday In his predeparture statement Modi said he was confident that the visit will further consolidate the enduring bonds between India and Israel and set new goals for the strategic partnershipIndia and Israel share a robust and multifaceted strategic partnership that has witnessed remarkable growth and dynamism in recent years Modi said I look forward to my discussions with Prime Minister Netanyahu aimed at further strengthening our cooperation across various domains including science and technology innovation agriculture water management defence and security trade and investment as well as peopletopeople ties he saidModi said he and Netanyahu will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest I am confident that my State Visit will further consolidate the enduring bonds between the two countries set new goals for the strategic partnership and advance our shared vision for a resilient innovative and prosperous future Modi saidThe prime ministers visit assumed greater significance as it is taking place amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East including deteriorating ties between the US and Iran There has been an upswing in IndiaIsrael ties in the last few years including in the areas of defence scientific research cybersecurity and innovationThe defence cooperation has emerged as an important pillar of the partnership between the two sides with Israel supplying a plethora of military platforms and weapon systems to IndiaIn November last during the visit of Indias defence secretary to Israel an important agreement on defence cooperation was signed As India is looking at developing an indigenous air defence shield called Sudarshan Chakra it is learnt that New Delhi would like to explore the possibility of incorporating certain elements from Israels Iron Dome allweather air defence system that can intercept and destroy missiles and artillery shellsThe trade and investment ties between the two sides are also witnessing steady progress During the visit to Israel of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in November the term of reference ToR for the launch of Free Trade Agreement FTA negotiations between India and Israel was signedIn September the two sides had inked a Bilateral Investment Agreement BIA to expand economic cooperation The peopletopeople ties between the two countries are also an important aspect of the overall relations with over 41000strong Indian diaspora playing a key role in the twoway engagementThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever