India and Israel are ancient civilisations sharing a British colonial past. They’re both vibrant democracies. Narendra Modi has just made the first visit to Israel by an Indian prime minister, marking 25 years since India and Israel established diplomatic relations.
Israel appreciates the importance of India, the world’s second most populous nation, its seventh-largest economy and an increasingly important player in the Indo-Pacific balance of power.
Interestingly Modi didn’t visit the Palestinian Authority as most world leaders do, flagging that he wanted to develop India’s relations with Israel outside of the Israel-Palestine question.
The visit marks in an obvious way that the two states are finally bringing their relationship out from under the carpet. Both countries have long co-operated on counter-terrorism, exchanging information on terrorist financing, training and recruitment.
Read the full article by Anthony Bergin at The Australian (subscription only).