JERUSALEM<\/p>\n
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India and Israel will pursue joint development, production and transfer of technology in defence, as well as work on a free trade agreement, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday as he concluded a two-day visit focused on deepening strategic ties.<\/p>\n
The two countries will cooperate in the \u00a0field of \u201chorizon scanning\u201d, which would enhance India\u2019s strategic capabilities, an Indian foreign ministry statement said.<\/p>\n
This would help strengthen strategic foresight, risk assessment, and technology planning through joint research, capacity building and AI-driven tools, it said.<\/p>\n
Modi said that India and Israel had pledged to fight terrorism.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndia and Israel are clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world, in any form\u2026 We will oppose it shoulder to shoulder. We will always oppose it in the future,\u201d he said, standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
\u201cHumanity must never become a victim of conflict,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The trip, which has drawn criticism at home, marks Modi\u2019s second visit to Israel as prime minister since he took office in 2014.<\/p>\n
Modi, who addressed Israel\u2019s parliament a day earlier, spoke of future cooperation between Israel and India in a variety of fields including defence, technology and energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cTogether, we will move forward towards joint development, joint production, and the transfer of technology,\u201d Modi told journalists.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, we will also advance our cooperation in areas such as civil nuclear energy and space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both leaders used the visit to announce a series of initiatives aimed at deepening trade and technological cooperation.<\/p>\n
They highlighted progress towards a free trade agreement and expanding investment and innovation links \u2014 from semiconductors and artificial intelligence to digital payments integration, including bringing India\u2019s UPI system into the Israeli market.<\/p>\n
Israeli officials had framed the visit as an expression of a robust and expanding partnership, with Netanyahu describing Modi as \u201cmore than a friend, a brother\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future belongs to those who innovate, and Israel and India are bent on innovation,\u201d Netanyahu said on Thursday, standing next to Modi.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re proud ancient civilisations, very proud of our past. But absolutely determined to seize the future, and we can do it better together.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Thursday, in the presence of the two leaders, more than a dozen agreements were signed between the two countries in fields such as\u00a0education, geophysical exploration and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
Modi\u2019s visit came as tensions in the Middle East and around the Gaza conflict continue to shape diplomatic calculations in the region.<\/p>\n
Despite strengthening ties with Israel, India has sought to maintain a broader regional balance \u2014 historically supporting Palestinian statehood while deepening cooperation with Israel.<\/p>\n
Modi\u2019s visits and statements often reflect this dual approach: affirming strategic partnership with Israel while reiterating support for peace and diplomatic solutions in the wider Middle East.<\/p>\n
He first visited Israel as prime minister in 2017, later travelling separately to Ramallah.<\/p>\n
Under Modi, India has taken a \u201cconscious decision\u2026 to delink India\u2019s relationship with Israel \u2014 from India\u2019s relationship and solidarity with the Palestinian people,\u201d said Ashok Malik from the New Delhi-based think-tank The Asia Group.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth are important for India, but both are separate.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a separate press briefing on Thursday, India\u2019s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, when asked if India would be part of the International Stabilisation Force for Gaza, said that New Delhi was awaiting greater clarity \u201con the ground\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I can tell you with some conviction\u2026 \u00a0we do have the capacity to contribute at the right time on the ground,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Modi told lawmakers at the Israeli parliament that his country stood \u201cfirmly\u201d with Israel following Hamas\u2019 attack on October 7, 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 carry with me the deepest condolences of the people of India for every life lost and for every family whose world was shattered in the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7,\u201d Modi said in the Knesset.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel your pain, we share your grief. India stands with Israel firmly with full conviction in this moment and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n
A senior figure of India\u2019s Congress party, Priyanka Gandhi, had criticised Modi\u2019s visit before he arrived in Israel.<\/p>\n
In a social media post, Gandhi said she hoped that Modi would mention the killing of \u201cthousands of innocent men, women and children in Gaza\u201d during his address to the Israeli parliament.<\/p>\n
In his speech to Israeli lawmakers, Modi did not say that explicitly, but he vaguely said that India \u201csupports all efforts that contribute to durable peace and regional stability\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JERUSALEM \u00a0 \u00a0 India and Israel will pursue joint development, production and transfer of technology in defence, as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-312771","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312771","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=312771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}