After his 3-nation tour, Jaishankar to visit Israel next week; to strengthen post-Netanyahu ties

New Delhi, Oct 16: After touring the three nations - Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Armenia, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will pay an official visit to Israel from October 17 to 21. This comes at the invitation of Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel, H.E. Mr. Yair Lapid.

 

 

 

It should be noted that this will be his first visit to the country as External Affairs Minister. He will hold a bilateral meeting with the Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel. Further, he will also call on the President, the Prime Minister, and the Knesset Speaker.

 

"India and Israel elevated bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership during the historic visit of PM Narendra Modi to Israel in July 2017. Since then, the relationship between the two countries has focused on expanding knowledge-based partnership, which includes collaboration in innovation and research, including boosting the ‘Make in India’ initiative," the Ministry said.

 

 

Apart from that, Jaishankar will interact with the Indian-origin Jewish community in Israel, Indologists, Indian students who are currently pursuing their education in Israeli universities, and business people, including from the hi-tech industries. The visit will also be an occasion to pay tribute to the valiant Indian soldiers who laid their lives in the region, especially during the First World War.

 

Ahead of Jaishankar's visit, a top Israeli Foreign Ministry official on Friday said that India is “a strategic partner and a very close friend". "Shubho Bijoya/Happy Dussehra to all of you, on the eve of @DrSJaishankar’s important visit to Israel. India is a strategic partner and a very close friend," Ushpiz said in a tweet.

 

 

Jaishankar's Israel visit follows his three-nation tour of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Armenia. Besides, in August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with his Israeli counterpart Bennett. Prime Minister Modi emphasised that India greatly values its robust cooperation with Israel in areas like agriculture, water, defence and security, and cyber-security.

 

 

Although India had recognised the Jewish State of Israel way back in 1950, it established full diplomatic relations on January 29, 1992. Before that, Israel had a Consulate in Mumbai, operating since 1953. India is the largest buyer of Israel's military hardware. The country has been supplying various weapon systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles over the last few years but the transactions have largely remained behind the curtains.