NEW DELHI: Indian govt Tuesday officially announced PM Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Israel starting Wednesday, saying it will reaffirm the deep and long-standing strategic partnership between the two countries and present an opportunity to review common challenges as well as “realign efforts towards achieving their shared vision for a robust partnership between two resilient democracies”.Modi will have an informal meeting with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu upon his arrival on Wednesday and shortly thereafter address the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset. He will visit a technology and innovation exhibition later in the evening before joining Netanyahu for a private dinner that the Israeli PM will host for him. Delegation-level talks between the leaders will take place on Thursday.An upgraded security pact is among the likely major takeaways from what will be Modi’s second visit to Israel. The two countries are also hoping to sign a free trade agreement later this year. “The two leaders will review the significant progress made in the India-Israel Strategic Partnership and discuss further opportunities in various areas of cooperation, including science and technology, innovation, defence and security, agriculture, water management, trade and economy, and people-to-people exchanges,” said the Indian govt in a statement. The leaders are also expected to exchange perspectives on regional and global issues of mutual interest.Modi will also call on Israeli President Isaac Herzog and visit Yad Vashem – the World Holocaust Remembrance Center – during his visit. The visit is taking place amid Israel-US tensions and the US threat of military action against Tehran. India’s announcement of Modi’s Israel visit came only on the evening before his scheduled departure to Tel Aviv.Ahead of Modi’s visit, Israel’s ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, said significant progress is expected during the visit in areas such as security, defence and trade. “India and Israel have worked closely for years and we are proud of this strong cooperation. But the world is changing fast, and so are the threats. In order to meet them, we will deepen our defence relationship by updating our security agreements. This will allow us to engage in more sensitive projects and develop together logical solutions,” Azar said.”Our economic partnership is gaining real momentum. We signed a bilateral investment treaty and we are moving forward to signing a free trade agreement, hopefully this year,” Azar added.
