NEW DELHI: Eli Cohen, the foreign minister of Israel, who had reached India on Tuesday morning for a three-day visit to India, had to cut short his visit and return as there was trouble brewing back home in Israel. However, he was able to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and business delegates before he headed back.
“We are strengthening ties with the most populous country in the world and expanding cooperation in the fields of cyber-security, agriculture and water. Our cooperation will strengthen Israel’s position in the world and stability in the Middle East,’’ Cohen said after meeting Jaishankar.
The two ministers also visited the Haifa memorial, which is dedicated to Indian soldiers who fell in battles in Israel during World War I. “We had productive and wide-ranging discussions. The main pillars of our strategic partnership are agriculture, water, defence and security, which are taking our ties forward. We
discussed cooperation in high-tech digital and innovation and also connectivity, mobility, tourism, finance and health. We also initiated an agreement in the area of mobility,’’ said Jaishankar.
Cohen had to head back home after tensions escalated in the Gaza strip following Israeli air raids that reportedly killed at least 13 people, including three commanders of the militant group Islamic Jihad.
Cohen’s trip was the third high-level visit to India by senior Israeli officials in less than three months. Israeli Parliament speaker Amir Ohana had visited India in late March while economy minister Nir Barkat was here in April.
These official visits were seen as preparing the ground for a visit to India by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later this year. During the meeting with Jaishankar the Israeli FM signed an agreement wherein 42,000 Indians can work in Israel – 32,000 as construction workers and 8,000 in healthcare.
In January, Modi invited Netanyahu to visit India at an early date. The same month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu during which both leaders agreed on the potential for further strengthening bilateral strategic cooperation.