Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday leave for Israel on a two-day state visit focused on advancing bilateral cooperation in a raft of areas including defence and security, science and technology, innovation, agriculture, water management, trade and economy, and people- to-people exchanges, the ministry of external affairs said on Tuesday.
This will be the PM’s second visit to that country in nine years; the bilateral relationship was elevated to “strategic partnership” when Modi visited Tel Aviv in July 2017.
Modi will address Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Wednesday and hold delegation-level talks with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu the following day.
“The two leaders will review the significant progress made in India-Israel Strategic Partnership, and discuss further opportunities in various areas of cooperation...The leaders are also expected to exchange perspectives on regional and global issues of mutual interest,” MEA said in a statement. The PM will also call on Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The visit will reaffirm the deep and long-standing strategic partnership between the two countries and will present an opportunity to review common challenges as well as realign efforts toward achieving their shared vision for a robust partnership between two resilient democracies, the MEA added.
{{/usCountry}}The visit will reaffirm the deep and long-standing strategic partnership between the two countries and will present an opportunity to review common challenges as well as realign efforts toward achieving their shared vision for a robust partnership between two resilient democracies, the MEA added.
{{/usCountry}}Both countries are expected to sign several memoranda of understanding, including on security cooperation, though there is no indication of any defence deal being signed during the current visit . The visit comes at a time when Israel has agreed to share the latest defence technologies with India.
Last November, India and Israel signed an MoU to deepen military ties, during the 17th meeting of the joint working group on defence cooperation co-chaired by defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Director General of Israeli Ministry of Defence Major General Amir Baram.
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The MoU was signed in Tel Aviv to provide a unified vision and policy direction to deepen the already strong defence cooperation between the two countries. It will enable the sharing of advanced technology and promote the co-development and co-production of weapons and systems. The MoU identified several areas for cooperation, including defence industrial cooperation, science and technology, R&D and technological innovation, AI and cyber security cooperation.
Several weapons of Israeli origin were used during Operation Sindoor, India’s four-day military confrontation with Pakistan in May 2025 , including missiles, bombs and loitering munitions, and steps have been taken to replenish their stocks.
India last week said that it had joined more than 100 countries and international organisations in a statement condemning Israel’s moves to expand unlawful settlements in the West Bank, as this is in line with New Delhi’s long-standing position of backing a two-state solution and the rights of the Palestinian people.