{"id":309003,"date":"2026-02-25T06:08:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/309003\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T06:08:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:08:19","slug":"what-to-expect-from-indian-pm-narendra-modis-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/309003\/","title":{"rendered":"What to expect from Indian PM Narendra Modi’s visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi<\/a> is set to arrive in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day state visit that will take him from the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport to the halls of the Knesset, through a Jerusalem innovation showcase, and into the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem.<\/p>\n

It will be Modi\u2019s first visit to Israel since his landmark 2017 trip \u2013 the first ever by a sitting Indian prime minister \u2013 and the schedule, released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s<\/a> office, is tightly packed. Here is what to expect.<\/p>\n

Wednesday, February 25<\/p>\n

12:45 p.m. \u2013 Welcoming ceremony, Ben-Gurion Airport<\/p>\n

Netanyahu and his wife Sara will receive Modi in an official ceremony at the airport. The last time the two leaders met on Israeli soil was in July 2017, when Netanyahu greeted Modi on the tarmac in what was then an unprecedented moment in India-Israel relations. Netanyahu has since made a return visit to India in January 2018, but nearly nine years have passed without an Indian prime ministerial visit here.<\/p>\n

1:00 p.m. \u2013 Meeting at the Fattal Lounge, Ben-Gurion Airport<\/p>\n

Before heading to Jerusalem, the two leaders will sit down for an initial meeting at the airport. India\u2019s Ambassador to Israel, J.P. Singh, told The Jerusalem Post that the leaders\u2019 discussions are expected to be \u201cvery free-flowing\u201d and will cover \u201cbilateral, plus regional and global issues.\u201d Singh described the personal relationship between the two leaders as \u201cvery warm, very friendly, very brotherly.\u201d This initial sit-down is closed to press \u2013 official photographers only.<\/p>\n

\"IndianIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to supporters as he arrives at the Lotte hotel in New York City, New York, US, June 20, 2023. (credit: REUTERS\/MIKE SEGAR)<\/p>\n

4:30 p.m. \u2013 Ceremony and address at the Knesset<\/p>\n

This is the marquee event of the visit. Modi will become the first Indian prime minister to address Israel\u2019s parliament<\/a>. Previous world leaders to address the plenum include US presidents, the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, and most recently, US President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei. For India \u2013 a country of 1.4 billion people that maintained only limited diplomatic ties with Israel until 1992 \u2013 the address represents a striking marker of how far the relationship has come.<\/p>\n

But the event is shadowed by a domestic political dispute. Opposition leader Yair Lapid has said his bloc will boycott the session after Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana declined to invite Supreme Court President Isaac Amit \u2013 breaking with parliamentary custom. Lapid has urged Netanyahu to intervene, writing on X that \u201cwe want to be in the session, we need to be in the session,\u201d and warning that the opposition does not want Modi addressing a half-empty chamber. Lapid said the Indian embassy was \u201cin a panic\u201d over the situation.<\/p>\n

Ohana fired back, calling the threatened boycott \u201can illegitimate weapon in a political struggle\u201d and pointing out that the opposition attended addresses by Trump<\/a> and Milei when Amit was also not invited. He has reportedly invited former Knesset members to fill any empty seats. Hebrew media outlet Ynet reported that Indian officials were weighing whether to cancel the speech altogether to avoid embarrassing optics, though no such decision has been announced.<\/p>\n

As of Tuesday evening, the standoff remained unresolved.<\/p>\n

6:00 p.m. \u2013 Innovation event, Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

The two leaders will tour a technology exhibition focused on areas where officials hope to deepen cooperation \u2013 principally artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and cybersecurity. Netanyahu flagged this event specifically at Sunday\u2019s cabinet meeting, saying the two countries would promote joint work in these fields. \u201cI say AI and quantum not because they are the future, but because they are the present,\u201d he said. A joint cybersecurity center of excellence is among the initiatives expected to be announced during the visit. The event is closed to press.<\/p>\n

7:30 p.m. \u2013 Dinner, King David Hotel, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

Netanyahu and his wife will host Modi for a private dinner at the King David \u2013 the same hotel where the expanded bilateral meeting will take place the following morning. The choice of venue carries its own weight; the King David has hosted heads of state for decades and served as the backdrop for some of Israel\u2019s most consequential diplomatic encounters. Official photographers only.<\/p>\n

Thursday, February 26<\/p>\n

9:00 a.m. \u2013 Yad Vashem, Hall of Remembrance<\/p>\n

Modi and Netanyahu will visit Israel\u2019s Holocaust memorial, where Modi is expected to lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance. Visits to Yad Vashem<\/a> are a standard element of state visits to Israel, and Modi previously visited the memorial during his 2017 trip. India has a lesser-known connection to the Holocaust: several hundred Jewish refugees found shelter in India during World War II, and Indian soldiers served in British forces that helped liberate concentration camps in Europe.<\/p>\n

11:00 a.m. \u2013 Expanded meeting and signing of agreements, King David Hotel<\/p>\n

This is where the substance lands. The two leaders will hold an expanded bilateral meeting, after which agreements that have been negotiated in advance will be formally signed and exchanged, followed by joint statements.<\/p>\n

Officials on both sides have been coy about specifics, but the broad strokes are visible. A classified defense framework agreement is expected to expand the categories of military cooperation open to India, with Israeli officials indicating it could include access to advanced air defense systems \u2013 potentially Israel\u2019s laser-based Iron Beam platform. Israel\u2019s Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, told media the updated protocols \u201cwill allow us to work on more sensitive technology\u201d and described the new framework as \u201cbroader, more sensitive, and timely.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defense relationship has already been growing fast. Forbes India reported earlier this month that Israel has agreed to arms deals with India worth approximately $8.6 billion this year, covering precision-guided munitions, air-to-surface missiles, and ballistic missile systems from Rafael, Elbit Systems, and Israel Aerospace Industries.<\/p>\n

Beyond defense, agreements are expected across science and technology, agriculture, research and development, and financial cooperation. Ambassador Singh told the Post that the agreements would span \u201cmost different aspects\u201d of the relationship. Israel\u2019s cabinet approved a NIS 148 million ($40 million) plan ahead of the visit to strengthen ties in areas including academic exchange, agriculture, renewable energy, and the establishment of 10 new centers of excellence in India.<\/p>\n

Both governments are also pushing toward a Free Trade Agreement. Azar said he expects one could be finalized within the year.<\/p>\n

Pool coverage only for this event \u2013 TV by AFP, stills by SIPA \u2013 with entry limited to pre-registered correspondents.<\/p>\n

2:00 p.m. \u2013 Departure ceremony, Ben-Gurion Airport<\/p>\n

Modi\u2019s visit ends where it began. An official departure ceremony at the airport will close the two-day trip. Open coverage, with entry from noon.<\/p>\n

What it means<\/p>\n

The visit is being framed by officials as an elevation of the relationship to \u201cspecial strategic relations\u201d \u2013 a designation Israel otherwise reserves for the United States and Germany. If the agreements signed at the King David match the rhetoric coming from both capitals, it would represent the most significant upgrade in India-Israel ties since the two countries established full diplomatic relations in 1992.<\/p>\n

Singh, the Indian ambassador, put it simply: \u201cThis visit will give us a road map and a vision for our future relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether the Knesset address goes smoothly \u2013 or becomes a footnote to Israel\u2019s judicial standoff \u2013 may be the first test of that vision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to arrive in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day state visit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[49,42,207,46,155111,14406,20065,43,40,38,41,39,73767],"class_list":{"0":"post-309003","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-benjamin-netanyahu","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-india","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-king-david-hotel","13":"tag-knesset","14":"tag-narendra-modi","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-top-news","17":"tag-top-stories","18":"tag-topnews","19":"tag-topstories","20":"tag-yad-vashem"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309003","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=309003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/309003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/309004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=309003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=309003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=309003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}