&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "PM Modi greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on landing in Israel, to address Knesset")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Israel and was greeted warmly by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu at the Ben Gurion International Airport. PM Modi is on a two-day visit to Israel, starting Wednesday, as the two nations seek to reaffirm their deep and long-standing strategic bond and present an opportunity to review common challenges. The six-hour-long flight from New Delhi became the most tracked in the world on Wednesday, according to FlighRadar24.
The visit marks Prime Minister Modi’s second trip to Israel in his 10-year tenure as the Indian leader. PM Modi's last visit to Israel was in 2017. PM Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a brief meeting, after which they will head to the Knesset for a special session.
PM Modi will become the first Indian leader to address the Israeli parliament. Some other foreign leaders who addressed the Knesset include US President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei.
After speeches in the Knesset plenum, PM Netanyahu and PM Modi will visit an innovation event together in Jerusalem and will later head for a private dinner. PM Modi will also call on the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog.
Netanyahu and Modi will review the progress 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.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, “The leaders are also expected to exchange perspectives on regional and global issues of mutual interest.”
"This visit to Tel Aviv aims to reaffirm the deep and long-standing strategic partnership between the two countries and will present an opportunity to review the common challenges as well as realign efforts towards achieving their shared vision for a robust partnership between two resilient democracies,” the MEA statement said further.
