External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, arrived in Israel on Tuesday on a two-day visit during which he is scheduled to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues between India and Israel.
“The discussions will revolve around bilateral and regional issues with a view to further deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries,” a source said.
The visit comes ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed trip to India, which was announced after Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Netanyahu spoke over the phone, after which the Israeli leader said the two would be “meeting very soon”.
Jaishankar arrived in Tel Aviv from Abu Dhabi, where he participated in the high-profile Sir Bani Yas Forum and also attended the 16th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting and the 5th round of the India-UAE Strategic Dialogue held on December 15.
India and Israel signed the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) during the visit of Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, to Israel last month.
The two countries also inked a landmark agreement to enhance defence, industrial, and technological cooperation last month to enable sharing of advanced technology to promote co-development and co-production.
Earlier this year, Israeli Minister of Tourism, Haim Katz; Minister of Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat; Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Avi Dichter; and Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich had visited India as the two countries build momentum towards a FTA.
India and Israel also inked a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) during Smotrich’s visit to New Delhi in September.
They have expanded cooperation in the cultural and academic spheres, with film festivals, dance performances and filmmaker-exchanges aimed at strengthening people-to-people ties.
On Monday, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Tel Aviv University signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish an India Chair at the university to boost academic cooperation.
Also Read: Phase one of India-Israel FTA may be implemented soon: Goyal
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