Israel PM Naftali Bennett's India visit postponed as he tests Covid +ve

The Israeli prime minister had announced his first official visit to India earlier this month, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Israel prime minister Naftali Bennett has postponed his visit to India, a day after testing positive for Covid, informed the spokesperson of the Israel Embassy in India Muhamed Heib on Tuesday. The spokesperson further said that the India visit would be rescheduled. Bennett tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, after which his office informed that he is “feeling well and will continue to work while self-isolating at home.”

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett  (Reuters)

The Israeli prime minister had announced his first official visit to India earlier this month, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I am delighted to pay my first official visit to India at the invitation of my friend, Prime Minister Modi, and together we will continue leading the way for our countries' relations," he had said, as quoted by his office.

During his visit, Bennett was supposed to meet PM Modi and other senior government officials. His office had informed that the leaders were going to discuss the “strengthening of cooperation in a variety of areas, including innovation, economy, research and development, agriculture and more.” According to the Israel PMO, the visit was to “advance and strengthen the strategic alliance between the countries, and to expand bilateral ties." Bennett was also scheduled to meet members of the Jewish community in the country.

This visit would have marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of full-fledged diplomatic relations between India and Israel in 1992, 42 years after India recognized Israel. Bennett had met US secretary of state Antony Blinken in Jerusalem on Sunday on the sidelines of the Israeli and Arab diplomats summit.

Meanwhile, Israel so far has reported a total of 3,876,122 cases of coronavirus, with 10,485 deaths.