Modi leaves for Israel : Five reasons why Tel Aviv matters to Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched down in Tel Aviv, saying he was fortunate to make what he called a “ground-breaking” visit as the first Indian Prime Minister in Israel.

“We are celebrating 25 years of our relationship and the trajectory of these relations has been remarkable, culminating in a peak over the last three years [since Modi’s election], ” Carmon said.

Narendra Modi hug life: Prime Minister Modi landed in Israel on Tuesday for his historic trip to the Middle Eastern country. The country has recently has moved closer to Israel and established strong diplomatic relations with it.

The companies, Harel added, are in final discussions as to which third-party firm will provide the electronics manufacturing services in Israel. “But actually my friend the sky isn’t the limit because today even our space programmes are working towards reaching even greater heights”, he said.

As part of an elaborate official welcome ceremony, Netanyahu received Prime Minister Modi on arrival. The two countries signed an air and missile defense deal worth nearly $2 billion in April, in what Israel termed the “largest defense contract deal” in its history. “It is so natural that we can ask what took so long for them to blossom”. “We also want to put in place a robust security partnership to respond to shared threats to our peace, stability and prosperity”, he said.

Mr. Modi, who isn’t accompanied by any ministers, will address the Indian community at an event on Wednesday in Tel Aviv that Mr. Netanyahu will also attend.

The snub has not gone unnoticed at home, where the prime minister has drawn sharp criticism for his decision to skip meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

New Delhi, traditionally a supporter of the Palestinian cause, has quietly fostered growing ties with Israel, but avoided high-profile visits to the Jewish state until now.

Israel backs India’s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks, said an Israeli foreign ministry official on Tuesday, the Press Trust of India reported.

The two leaders embraced heartily and gave brief speeches, pledging to work together on issues including security, agriculture and energy.

The two leaders then travelled to the Holocaust Memorial at Yad Vashem, where Modi paid tribute to the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazi regime, before a meeting over dinner.

Sofer, a former ambassador to India, said, “Both countries face the same challenges of terrorism and face the same struggle”.

“At the Danziger Flower Farm, advanced agriculture technologies were showcased by the Israeli Government”, Office of the Prime Minister said in a tweet. Pushing for use of science and technology in future, PM Modi said that two nations have a scope to expand academic and business links.

The theme chosen for this year is “Shaping an Inter-connected World“.