In the first meeting between Indian and Israeli Prime Ministers in more than a decade, Prime Minister Modi asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to explain Israel’s perspective on the Islamic State (ISIS). According to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, the two leaders discussed the situation in West Asia. “Given that Israel is well placed in that region, the Prime Minister requested and was given a briefing of their understanding of the situation.”
The conversation takes significance given it came before Mr. Modi’s dinner meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington, as well as Mr. Modi’s address to the council for foreign relations to outline his government’s foreign policy objectives.
Mr. Modi and Mr. Netanyahu also discussed ways of increasing bilateral ties in the areas of agriculture, water management and urban development. Israel is one of India’s largest defence suppliers, and Mr. Modi discussed his government’s decision to open up Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the field to 49 per cent. He also told Mr. Netanyahu that Israel should consider defence partnerships based in India, in line with his “Make in India” initiative. According to
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The meeting between the two leaders came a few hours after Mr. Modi’s interactions with American-Jewish community leaders, who also made a strong pitch for an “India-US-Israeli relationship”, according to the spokesperson. During the day, Mr. Modi also met US lawmakers of Indian origin, including Hawaiian congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.