Bringing out a major shift in India’s foreign policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be embarking on a two-day visit to Israel on Tuesday, which many say will only embolden the Jewish State’s occupation of Palestine.
Modi is going to be the first Indian Prime Minister to undertake a State visit to Israel while all his predecessors had taken a cautious approach, fearing a diplomatic imbalance and India’s adherence to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The Prime Minister’s visit to Israel will herald the era of ‘strategic partnership’ between the two as both countries celebrate 25 years of diplomatic ties with expansion in cooperation in defence and security areas.
Modi’s visit to the country is also expected to pave the way for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to India later this year, sources told
The then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had visited India in 2003. Since then, there have been no Prime Ministerial visits from both sides. In last 25 years, only three Indian Foreign Ministers have visited Tel Aviv — Jaswant Singh, SM Krishna and Sushma Swaraj.
Swaraj had visited there in January 2016 when both sides vowed to take their ties to the next level with expansion in cooperation in several areas such as water management, science and technology, cyber security, defence, and agriculture.
However, it was during the visit to of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to India last year in November when both countries decided to work together to counter terrorism, radicalism and extremism.
“This visit will give a new direction to India-Israel ties… We have a wide range of areas of cooperation. It is a wide-ranging partnership and we want to give it a definite partnership and advance it into several areas,” said B Bala Bhaskar, Joint Secretary (West Asia), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Bhaskar also said that India’s diplomatic proximity with Israel will have no adverse impact on its expanding ties with Palestine.
During the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas here in May, Modi had talked of India’s “unwavering support in supporting the Palestinian cause.”
“Our position on Israel and Palestine issue is very simple. We want both countries to exist and exist as peaceful neighbours,” said Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations), MEA.
Defence and tradeIsrael is one of India’s top defence equipment suppliers. Apart from the announcement for cooperation in homeland security, agreements could also be signed on procuring defence armaments.
The long-pending deal for Barak 8 air defence missile systems for the Indian Navy and purchase of Spike anti-tank missiles for the Army may finally be sealed during the visit.
“Defence will be a major focus during the visit, although defence deals with Israel are happening even before the visit. But this visit will also ensure that the political messaging takes place. Israelis want to cultivate this relationship with India as they need more support in the present geopolitical set-up,” said S Samuel C Rajiv, Associate Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).
India might also push for the revival of talks on having a free trade agreement (FTA) with Israel, which have been going on since 2010.