Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Israel on Tuesday making him the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country. Modi’s reason to visit Israel is to agree on military and cybersecurity deals.
Officials have also confirmed the Prime Minister will not visit Ramallah or meet the Palestinian leaders. For 25 years, India and Israel have had diplomatic relations but it has been a struggle due to India’s vast Muslim population.
India and Israel’s bond has been in relation to defense, agriculture, counter terrorism and the water and energy sectors.
Narendra Modi has also spoken about the Palestine issue saying, “India believes in a two state solution in which both Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist peacefully.”
The Prime Minister will also visit Moshe Holtzberg, an Israeli boy whose parents were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. It was in the Nariman House in Mumbai, when Pakistani terrorists stormed the Jewish Center killing six civilians including the Rabbi and his wife.
Modi was asked whether India would be pro Israel at the UN to which the Prime Minister responded, “We remain engaged with all our partners, including Israel, in finding optimal outcomes at the UN and other multilateral fora that reflect our commonly shared priorities and concerns. India is not in favor of singling out any country at the UN.”
He was further asked if India still stands unaligned to the West or the East. The Prime Minister said, “We believe in the philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ which means ‘the world is one family.’ We want to engage constructively with both the East and the West.”
The Israel ambassador to India, Mark Sofer said, “Israel has supported India both in its general battle against terrorism, as well as the groups operating out of Pakistan. Unlike many countries, we have not hesitated to openly support India on this. We find no difference between LeT and Hamas. We both share the struggle against the forces of evil.”
On Monday, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted, “Tomorrow, my friend Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Israel. This is a historic first visit by an Indian PM to Israel in 70 years, it attests to the fact that our relations with India became closer.”
