What to expect from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's India visit
On Friday (January 12), two statements by India and Israel marked an important development ahead of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the country. According to a statement by Israeli ambassador to India, Daniel Carmon, India’s vote in the UN will not mar the bilateral relations. Last month, India voted in favour of an Arab resolution in the UN General Assembly denouncing the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
On the same day (January 12) Army chief Bipin Rawat said the government and the Indian Army are discussing ways to revive the $500 million order to buy Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel's state-owned defence contractor Rafael. The deal to procure 8,000 missiles was recently called off.
Netanyahu's January 14-19 visit to the country comes six months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic trip to Israel last year. While last year's visit took the Indo-Israeli bilateral relation to a new height, Netanyahu's return visit is being seen as further bolstering of the relationship.
The two statements have put on hold speculations on the outcome of the Israeli PM’s visit to India following the recent developments in the past one month.
From past to present
In 1950, India recognised Israel, but did not establish diplomatic relations. In 1962, Israel helped India when the later asked for arms and ammunition supply. 1962 made the beginning of defence ties between the two countries.
Again in 1971, Israel helped India during the India-Pakistan war. In 1985, Rajiv Gandhi met his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres on the sidelines of the UNGA, the first public meeting between the leaders of the two countries.
In 1992, diplomatic ties between India and Israel were established. In 1999, during the Kargil war, Israel again helped India with defence supplies. In 2003, Ariel Sharon became the first Israeli PM to visit India. In 2009, Barak 8 deal was signed between India and Israel. In 2014, Modi met Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UNGA, first such meeting in over a decade.
In 2015, India abstained from voting against Israel at the UN Human Rights Commission, signaling a shift in its Israel-Palestine policy. In 2017, India took part in Blue flag exercise. In 2017, India voted in favour of an Arab-sponsored resolution against the US government’s move to shift its embassy to Jerusalem.
In 2018, Israeli arms manufacturing firm Rafael confirmed scrapping of $500 million Spike, anti-tank guided missile, deal between India and Israel. On January 14, Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will we visiting India, making it the second visit by any Israeli prime minister to India, after Ariel Sharon.
The way ahead
In 2016, the bilateral trade, excluding defence, between the two countries was around $4billion. At present, Israel is a major defence supplier to India exporting an average of $1 billion of military equipment each year. Last year, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd won nearly $2 billion in contracts from India. PM Modi’s visit last year has helped diversify the bilateral relation.
Also, stronger ties are expected in the area of agriculture. This visit will also help strengthen earlier agreements such as the "Strategic Partnership in Water and Agriculture”, water conservation, waste-water treatment and its reuse for agriculture, desalination and water utility reforms. Future developments are also likely to focus on technology transfer from Israel and joint development of defence products under the "Make in India" initiative.
The bonding between the two PMs, Modi and Netanyahu, will also act as a catalyst in forging stronger ties between the two nations. Looking at the history of India-Israel ties and a commitment for the strong and visionary leadership by both sides, there are fair chances that Netanyahu’s visit will only further strengthen the already robust relationship.