Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted a “warm invitation” from India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday to visit New Delhi the followed the “India-Israel Joint Statement” issued by diplomats from both countries.
The visit, expected to take place at the end of this calendar year, is likely to include young Moshe Holtzberg as a passenger – an invitation extended by Modi and a promise made by Netanyahu during a meeting with the boy during the day
The brisk pace did not alter on Day 2 of Modi’s three-day visit to the Jewish State, with a visit to the Israel Museum to view a reconstructed synagogue belonging to Jews of India, a working lunch, more bilateral agreements signed during the day between Israelis and their counterparts from India who accompanied the prime minister on his visit, and discussions about what else can be done by the two countries together, in addition to a visit with Moshe Holtzberg, his Indian nanny and his grandparents.
“We’re talking about also cooperation in third countries and actually working together to better the future of the people of Africa,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “India is present there, Israel is present and coming in to Africa and we think that by joining forces in various areas that I just discussed and others, we can help the people of Africa as well. So this is very, very exciting and it shows you how we are seizing the future,” he said.
Netanyahu also noted that he and his Indian counterpart have also agreed to cooperate in the fight against global terror as well. “We … recognize that we are being challenged. We are being challenged by the forces of terror, the forces of terror that seeks to undermine our world, our countries, the peace and stability of our common civilization,” he said.
During their working lunch at the King David Hotel, seven agreements were signed that included cooperation on projects in the fields of water and agriculture as well as satellite technology, in addition to the creation of a $40 million innovation fund to raise the bar on research in all areas.
“Israel and India live in complex geographies,” Modi said. “We are aware of strategic threats to regional peace and stability. We have witnessed terror; so has Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu and I agreed to do much more together to protect our strategic interests, and also [to] combat growing radicalization, including in cyberspace.”
A joint statement by the two prime ministers underscored bilateral cooperation in the defense industry, noting that “future developments in this sphere should focus on joint development of defense products, including transfer of technology from Israel with a special emphasis on the ‘Make in India’ initiative.” Israel is the third largest supplier of defense product to India.
On Tuesday, at least 11 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) were signed between various Israeli-Indian teams who met to discuss their goals and objectives for the years ahead.