Jerusalem, October 20

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday had a “warm and rich” discussion with the top Israeli leadership on realising the full potential of the bilateral strategic partnership and exchanged views on the changes in the geopolitical landscape and global affairs. They also discussed expanding academic research and technology collaboration between India and Israel to drive the future of the bilateral ties.

Jaishankar called on Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and they discussed “strengthening the strategic alliance, expanding bilateral ties and deepening the warm friendship between Israel and India”, the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser said.

PM Bennett thanked his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the minister for their personal commitment to the partnership between Israel and India, the Adviser said.

“I speak on behalf of Israelis: We love India. We view India as a huge friend and we’re looking forward to expanding our relationship in all fields and all dimensions. I look forward to a very productive meeting,” Prime Minister Bennett told Jaishankar at the start of the meeting. Jaishankar conveyed the greetings of Prime Minister Modi to the Israeli leader and invited him to make his first official visit to India. “We are today at a very important stage of our relationship because things have gone very well for us,” he said. — PTI