{"id":308223,"date":"2026-02-24T19:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/308223\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T19:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:48:10","slug":"modis-visit-expected-to-strengthen-israel-india-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/308223\/","title":{"rendered":"Modi’s visit expected to strengthen Israel-India ties"},"content":{"rendered":"

India\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi<\/a> is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day visit \u2014 his second. But this trip is about far more than ceremony, contracts, or even bilateral warmth. It comes at a moment of geopolitical inversion.<\/p>\n

On the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport on a sweltering July day in 2017, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted India\u2019s Narendra Modi<\/a> with the words: \u201cPrime Minister, we\u2019ve been waiting for you for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, indeed, Israel had. It took nearly 70 years for an Indian prime minister to visit the Jewish state \u2014 a state India voted against at the United Nations in 1947 and with which it established diplomatic relations only in 1992.<\/p>\n

Israel had to wait only nine years for a return visit.<\/p>\n

In the intervening years, what was once a cautious, low-profile relationship has matured into one of Israel\u2019s most consequential strategic partnerships. Modi now arrives not merely as a visitor, but as the leader of the world\u2019s most populous country and one of the fastest-rising global powers.<\/p>\n

\"PrimePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Indian PM Narendra Modi at a joint press conference in New Delhi, India, January 15, 2018; illustrative. (credit: Avi Ohayon\/GPO)Modi is arriving at a moment loaded with symbolism<\/p>\n

Modi\u2019s visit comes amid intensifying efforts in parts of the international community to isolate Israel over the war in Gaza. There are diplomatic pressures, legal challenges, calls for sanctions, and boycotts. Yet here is the prime minister of India \u2014 a nation of 1.4 billion people, a civilizational power and major global player \u2014 not distancing himself, not downgrading ties, but deepening them.<\/p>\n

For Netanyahu, that image alone carries weight. It is a rebuttal to the isolation narrative.<\/p>\n

But there is also a striking reversal of fortunes embedded in this visit.<\/p>\n

In 2017, when Modi first came, Israel’s diplomatic position was on the rise. Netanyahu was aggressively expanding Israel\u2019s global reach \u2014 into Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Gulf, and Eastern Europe<\/a> \u2014 selling Israeli strengths in intelligence, cybersecurity, agriculture, and water technology. Israel\u2019s international standing was improving.<\/p>\n

Today, India\u2019s global trajectory is the one on the ascent. Delhi is positioning itself as a bridge between East and West, a manufacturing powerhouse, a technological hub, and a counterweight to China. Israel, meanwhile, is navigating one of the most diplomatically challenging periods in its history.<\/p>\n

In other words, Modi\u2019s return visit comes amid a reversal of momentum.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu hopes to leverage Israel\u2019s close relationship with India as part of a broader diplomatic architecture \u2014 what he described at Sunday\u2019s cabinet meeting as a \u201chexagon\u201d of alliances: India, select Arab states, Greece, Cyprus, African partners, and additional Asian players.<\/p>\n

The intention, Netanyahu said, \u201cis to create an axis of countries that see reality, the challenges, and the goals through the same lens, facing the radical axes \u2014 both the radical Shi\u2019ite axis, which we have struck hard, and the emerging radical Sunni axis.\u201d<\/p>\n

India is central to that vision.<\/p>\n

When Modi came to power in 2014, he instituted what became known as a policy of \u201cde-hyphenation\u201d \u2014 separating India\u2019s relationship with Israel from its relationship with the Palestinians. No longer would ties with Jerusalem be automatically balanced or constrained by Ramallah.<\/p>\n

That shift was revolutionary.<\/p>\n

For decades, under Congress Party governments, India\u2019s approach to Israel was cautious, often filtered through domestic political considerations — India houses the world\u2019s third largest Muslim population — \u00a0and historic sympathies for the Palestinian cause. The Congress Party criticized Modi\u2019s upcoming visit, saying that his government has \u201cabandoned\u201d the Palestinians.<\/p>\n

Under Congress Party governments, relations existed, but largely below the radar. Modi changed that. He brought the relationship into full public view \u2014 and then expanded the ties dramatically.<\/p>\n

Trade has broadened beyond diamonds and agriculture into advanced technologies, cyber, renewable energy, and water management. Negotiations on a free trade agreement have advanced. Labor mobility agreements have brought thousands of Indian workers to Israel, with the Indian Embassy putting the number of Indian citizens currently in Israel at some 42,000 — excluding the more than 100,000 Jews of Indian origin.<\/p>\n

But the core of the relationship is defense. And here, the numbers tell the story.<\/p>\n

India has become Israel\u2019s single largest defense customer<\/p>\n

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which tracks international arms sales, fully one-third of Israel\u2019s arms sales to India occurred between 2020 and 2024. Israel\u2019s defense sales to India over the last decade have totaled just over $20 billion, and according to Forbes India, since the beginning of the year, the two countries have closed deals worth an eye-popping $8.6 billion.<\/p>\n

Israeli systems in Indian service include air defense platforms such as the Barak missile system, drones, radar systems, anti-tank missiles, and advanced surveillance technologies.<\/p>\n

The defense relationship, however, has evolved. India\u2019s \u201cMake in India\u201d doctrine requires substantial local production and technology transfer. Israeli defense firms now operate joint ventures and production lines in India.<\/p>\n

While Israel\u2019s relationship with a number of traditional allies was strained by the war in Gaza, the relationship with India withstood the crisis.<\/p>\n

Modi was among the first world leaders to condemn the October 7 attacks. But beyond rhetoric, cooperation reportedly continued in practical ways.<\/p>\n

According to foreign reports, when some Western countries slowed down and even embargoed weapons supplies to Israel during the war, India continued to supply military equipment.<\/p>\n

Remotely piloted aircraft produced in India were reportedly used to collect intelligence in Gaza, and joint production lines continued operating. India did not just issue statements of solidarity; it stepped up in practical ways.<\/p>\n

Also, as some European governments distanced themselves from Israel and diplomatic pressure mounted, Delhi maintained steady engagement.<\/p>\n

That reliability, however, does not mean alignment on every regional issue.<\/p>\n

For instance, India maintains longstanding ties with Iran \u2014 energy links and infrastructure projects such as the development of Iran\u2019s Chabahar port, which gives India access to Central Asia \u2014 as well as a long tradition of keeping its options open. Delhi avoids rigid military blocs and resists being drawn into overtly anti-Iran alignments.<\/p>\n

Modi will not present a partnership with Israel \u2014 or participation in Netanyahu\u2019s vision of a Hexagon axis \u2014 as part of a formal coalition aimed at Tehran<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, if India is careful not to be seen as aligning against Iran, it has fewer reservations about counterbalancing Turkey\u2019s growing regional footprint \u2014 particularly Ankara\u2019s deepening embrace of Pakistan.<\/p>\n

In recent years, Turkey has expanded defense and diplomatic coordination with Islamabad and taken positions on Kashmir that Delhi views as hostile. At the same time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is implacably hostile to Israel. This creates a convergence of Indian and Israeli interests.<\/p>\n

An expanded framework linking Israel, India, Greece, Cyprus, and select Arab states, such as the UAE \u2014 countries that also have strained relations with Ankara \u2014 offers India a strategic counterweight to Turkey\u2019s ties with Pakistan.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, there are two key messages in Modi\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n

First, efforts to isolate Israel are neither universal nor fully effective. Major powers continue to operate according to their own interests, and strong ties with Israel are very much in India\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

Second, Israel continues to try to strengthen ties elsewhere, especially amid political and demographic changes in the US and Europe. \u00a0As Netanyahu said at Sunday\u2019s cabinet meeting, the close relationship with the US \u201cdoes not mean we are not seeking additional alliances \u2014 on the contrary, we cultivate them constantly.<\/p>\n

Modi\u2019s visit is one such act of cultivation. If Modi\u2019s 2017 visit was a breakthrough in the relationship, his 2026 return signifies the consolidation of those ties.<\/p>\n

For Netanyahu, it is an opportunity to demonstrate that, even amid diplomatic setbacks and challenges, Israel retains powerful partners \u2014 and that, as alliances shift, Israel can shift with them. The Hexagon vision is one such example.<\/p>\n

As Netanyahu said Sunday, much water has flowed in the Mediterranean, the Ganges, and the Jordan since Modi\u2019s first visit nine years ago. At a time when some speak of Israel\u2019s isolation, the image of India\u2019s prime minister landing in Tel Aviv highlights a partnership that has become a steady pillar of Israel\u2019s foreign policy. The goal now is not merely to deepen the relationship, but to make it indispensable to both sides.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day visit \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6557,85,207,3792,46,20065,43],"class_list":["post-308223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-diplomacy","tag-il","tag-india","tag-india-israel-relations","tag-israel","tag-narendra-modi","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}