NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Israel on Wednesday for a two-day visit to strengthen relations with a major trade and defense partner, drawing criticism at home.
Modi is scheduled to land at Ben Gurion Airport at 12:45 p.m. local time, and is set to become the first Indian leader to address the Knesset — a move Israeli officials have described as a “strategic leap.”
“Our nations share a robust and multifaceted strategic partnership,” Modi said in a departure statement, saying he will meet his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and address the Knesset.
“Ties have significantly strengthened in the last few years,” he added.
Growing cooperation
New Delhi has steadily expanded cooperation with Israel across the defense, agriculture, technology and cybersecurity sectors while balancing diplomatic interests in the Middle East.
Talks opened between Indian and Israeli technical experts in New Delhi on Monday for an India-Israel Free Trade Agreement (FTA), India’s government said in a statement, noting that total merchandise trade was $3.62 billion in 2024-25.
Defense integration to feature prominently
Modi said he would hold talks with Netanyahu to “discuss ways to strengthen cooperation” as well as meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Israeli officials say defense integration will be a prominent topic in discussions. Media reports in Israel have cited a proposed multi-billion-dollar defense package, including the Iron Beam laser air defense system and potential joint production of advanced missile systems.
For Netanyahu, the visit is being framed as part of a broader regional security architecture, according to the Economic Times.
'Hexagon of Alliances'
The publication quotes Israeli analysts saying efforts were underway to build a six-nation “Hexagon of Alliances,” reportedly including India, Greece and Cyprus, aimed at countering what Israel calls the Iranian axis.
In September 2023, grand plans were unveiled in New Delhi for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor — to link railways, ports, electricity, data networks and pipelines, including through Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Netanyahu has highlighted the corridor, including the port of Haifa operated by India’s Adani Group, as a strategic economic link.
Those plans were stalled after the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.
Full diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992. Ties deepened after Hindu-nationalist leader Modi took office in 2014.
Modi visited Israel as prime minister in 2017, before Netanyahu reciprocated with a visit to India the following year.
Both right-wing leaders have called each other a “friend.”
Senior Congress party figure Priyanka Gandhi, sister of opposition leader Rahul, posted on social media on Wednesday that she hoped Modi would mention the killing of “thousands of innocent men, women and children in Gaza” when he addresses Israel’s parliament.
Iran question
In Tehran, state-aligned media sharply criticized the visit. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that hardliners in Jerusalem and Washington were pushing toward a “catastrophic war,” while adding that Tehran would not yield to what he described as unreasonable demands.
Iranian state media also cited Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as saying that any attempt at “encirclement” would draw a firm response.
The visit comes as the United States weighs options on Iran, and after India advised its citizens to leave Iran, signaling heightened regional tensions.
India, the world’s most populous nation with 1.4 billion people, is majority Hindu, but an estimated 220 million Indians are Muslim.
One of India’s largest conglomerates, Adani Group, operates the Mediterranean port of Haifa. India also used Israeli military drone technology during its May 2025 clash with Pakistan.
At the same time, India maintains strong relations with Gulf nations and Tehran, including developing Iran’s Chabahar port — a trade gateway to Afghanistan, where New Delhi has built a relationship with Taliban authorities.
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