External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa'ar in Germany and held discussions on key geopolitical issues, including President Donald Trump's vision of connecting Asia, Europe, and the United States through Israel.
The meeting took place on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, a prominent global platform for dialogue on international security and diplomatic affairs.
"Great to meet FM @gidonsaar of Israel on the sidelines of #MSC2025. Exchanged views on the current situation in West Asia/Middle East. Underlined the strength and significance of our bilateral partnership," Jaishankar posted on X.
A statement from the Israeli Foreign Minister's office noted that Sa'ar emphasised the strategic value Israel attaches to its relationship with India.
The two ministers also discussed President Trump's ambitious vision to establish a trade route connecting Asia, Europe, and the United States through Israel, the statement added.
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Trump, during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington on Thursday, had declared that the United States and India would collaborate to construct "one of the greatest trade routes in all of history."
"It will run from India to Israel to Italy and onward to the United States, connecting our partners by ports, railways, and undersea cables — many, many undersea cables. It's a big development," Trump had said.
He added, "It's a lot of money going to be spent, and we've already spent some, but we're going to be spending a lot more in order to stay advanced and stay the leader."
The proposal echoes an infrastructure initiative introduced at the G20 Summit in New Delhi in 2023, which aimed to link India to Europe through the Middle East.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the project as "the largest cooperation project in our history" and asserted that it would "change the face of the Middle East, Israel, and will affect the entire world."
The Israeli statement also indicated that Jaishankar and Sa'ar discussed regional security concerns, including the impact of attacks on maritime trade routes by the Houthis and Iran.
The Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, have repeatedly targeted ships in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, a critical maritime passage between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.
The Houthis claim their attacks are aimed at vessels with Israeli connections, following the recent escalation in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The meeting between Jaishankar and Sa'ar underlined the growing strategic cooperation between India and Israel, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to bolstering regional security and advancing shared economic goals.
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