New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the country would be exploring new avenues of cooperation with Israel in the defense sector during the upcoming visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister will be meeting his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on January 15.
"India has long-lasting and wide-ranging defense cooperation with Israel. This covers defense equipment, defense industry and technology cooperations which are developing very well. So both the countries will actively explore new areas of cooperation," Bala Bhaskar, Joint Secretary, MEA told the media in New Delhi.
Israeli ambassador to India Daniel Carmon has termed it a historic visit, which will strengthen the growing partnership between the two countries.
"The Prime Minister's visit to India is the grand finale to the celebrations 25 years of growing partnership between India and Israel. The visit will focus on the progress made between India and Israel since Prime Minister Modi's visit to Israel last summer, on shaping the next 25 years of relations between our countries and our peoples," Israeli ambassador Daniel Carmon said.
Apart from defense, agriculture and water management are other important areas in which the two countries are seeking to strengthen cooperation, according to the MEA.
The Israeli Prime Minister is also scheduled to call on Indian President Ramnath Kovind and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi, following which he will visit Agra, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai.
The Israel Prime Minister, accompanied by a high-level business delegation, will also be meeting the Jewish community and top business leaders in Mumbai.