Israel Foreign Minister Eli Cohen arrives in India on three-day visit, to hold talks with EAM Jaishankar

Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Tuesday arrived in India on a three-day official visit. ANI

New Delhi: Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Tuesday arrived in India on a three-day official visit and is set to meet his Indian counterpart External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar later in the day.

“A warm welcome to FM @elicoh1 of Israel on his first official visit to India. Looking forward to the visit further strengthening the multifaceted – partnership,” said Arindam Bagchi,  the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), on Twitter.

As part of the trip, according to a statement from CII, Cohen will attend the India-Israel Business Forum organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and also participate in a special conversation organised by the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute on 9 May in New Delhi.

After his meeting with Jaishankar and attending the CII India-Israel Business Forum today, Cohen will depart for Agra in the evening to attend a programme scheduled to be held on 10 May, according to a media advisory released by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Following his engagements in Agra, the minister will return to Delhi on May 10 before departing for a programme in Mumbai on 11 May. Apparently, he will depart for Israel on May 11, according to a media advisory.

His visit comes after Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat travelled to India this year in April with a large business delegation on a four-day official visit aiming to strengthen bilateral ties in common areas of interest, automotive technologies, and fintech.

During his visit, Nir Barkat said that he is inspired by the opportunity of collaborating between the economies of Israel and India. In response to ANI’s question regarding his India visit, Barkat said, “I’m inspired by the opportunity of collaborating between the Israeli economy and the Indian economy. But prior to that, I want to mention the friendship between the people.”

He further said, “Israelis love Indians and thank God, Indians love Israelis. We have a good history of 2000 years, while Jews had challenges all over the world, we always felt safe and secure living and doing business in India. And I think this is very important looking into the future.”

In late March, Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and the parliamentary delegation too paid an official visit to India.

Earlier this month, Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon hailed the ties that the two countries share and said that he is looking forward to hosting the Foreign Minister soon.

“These days we are fortunate to have a series of high-level visits from Israel to India. In late March, we had the visit of the Israel speaker of the parliament Knesset, In mid -April, we had the first-ever visit of the Minister of Economy and we are expecting to host soon the Minister of Foreign Affairs and later in the year, hopefully also our Prime Minister”, said the envoy.

“What is common in these visits is that they return impressed by the strong sympathy and friendship between India and Israel, as well as the understanding of the growing importance of India to Israel and to the world”, he added.

Speaking about the India-Israel ties, the envoy further said that the cooperation between the two countries is built on deep trust which is evident by the cooperation in the most sensitive fields.

“I’ve never experienced before such deep appreciation, affection and friendship towards Israel as I do wherever I go in India. A similar sentiment towards India exists in the hearts of many Israelis. The cooperation between India and Israel is based on deep trust. This is evident by the wide fields of cooperation including in the most sensitive ones”, said the Israeli Envoy.

While speaking to ANI, Naor Gilon also said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit India by the end of this year.

With inputs from agencies

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