How PM Modi’s Israel visit is crucial amid escalating West Asian tensions

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to begin his two-day visit to Israel on February 25, nine years after his first trip to the Jewish state. India and Israel enjoy a unique relationship steeped in historic people-to-people connections with ancient roots. India gave refuge to a large number of Jews for hundreds of years, among various other persecuted communities. The ancient Jewish communities in India, including the Bene Israelis, Cochini Jews, Baghdadi Jews and Bnei Menashe. survived and thrived in India and contributed to India’s growth story and cultural treasure. Even though large numbers went back to Israel and the remaining have been invited by the Jewish state, they remain a living bridge between the two countries.

I met many in Israel who fondly remembered their time in India and were quite nostalgic, and some even hankered to return. This was so aptly articulated by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri when, during the commemoration ceremony for the Holocaust, he reaffirmed, "India has always stood in eternal solidarity with the Jewish people." Not only through history, but even during the darkest hours of World War II, when doors closed around the world, India opened its heart." No wonder a large number of young Israeli army officers find solace in India's mountains and beaches during their vacations.

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Israel has greatly appreciated the friendly support of India – the largest democracy in the world. It also acknowledges India, not only as the most tolerant nation but also as the most resilient power. Likewise, India has valued consistent and overt Israeli military, technological and material support during times of crisis and wars. Even in the 1971 war with Pakistan, Israel provided weapons to India much against the wishes of the US, which was backing the brutal Pak regime and its Cold War ally. Tel Aviv even offered to attack and decimate the Pakistani nuclear facility at Kahuta, provided India arranged the refuelling facility for Israeli planes. Then Indian leadership chose not to go forward, and today Pakistan has become a virtual security provider in West Asia with its so-called ‘Islamic Bomb and Islamic Alliance'.

Once again, during the recent heinous Pahalgam terror attacks and India’s fitting response through ‘Op-Sindoor’, Israel was one of the few countries that stood with India through thick and thin, apart from Russia. This India appreciates. Hence, when the October 7 (2023) terror attack by Hamas took place, PM Narendra Modi was possibly the first leader to condemn it and expressed solidarity with the people of Israel. Counter-terrorism has become a bulwark of bilateral cooperation.

As such, like his several other international-personal relationships, PM Modi has enjoyed a prolonged friendship with PM Benjamin Netanyahu since his time as Chief Minister of Gujarat. Gujarat also boasts of several collaborative projects, especially in agriculture and water technologies. Over three dozen projects in hydroponics and water-resistant technologies are working to strengthen cooperation, for which even special funding mechanisms have been devised.

India and Israel are innovative countries and are aligning technological synergies across the whole spectrum of security, from defence to cyber to AI. No wonder Israel is the third-largest supplier of defence equipment to India, and various new deals are in the offing which might make it the first this year. Trust and reliability drive it. India is Israel’s second-largest trading partner in Asia. During the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Israel in July 2017, an MoU was signed between the Department of Science and Technology, India, and the National Authority for Technological Innovation, Israel, for establishing the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Innovation Fund (I4F) with both sides contributing $20 million each.

The I4F programme has been renewed for a further period of five years (2023–27) by making the fund available for joint projects across various fields under four separate tracks (feasibility studies, R&D projects, pilot projects, and strategic projects). I4F has funded thirty R&D projects, including joint projects on low-cost, high-efficiency solar water pumping solutions, drone detection and neutralisation systems, and an AI-based project for the early detection of tuberculosis.

PM Modi also was the first Indian PM to visit Israel while celebrating the establishment of 25 years of full diplomatic relations in 2017. He is slated to visit Tel Aviv once again, and so the visit of Netanyahu to India is on the cards, which will further identify and build on areas of strategic collaboration. Apart from dozens of bilateral institutional mechanisms across the whole strategic spectrum, India and Israel have established bilateral consultation mechanisms in all sectors of collaboration, including water, agriculture, counter-terrorism, and defence.

Recently PM Netanyahu, frustrated with the Trumpian and US approaches in the region, especially in the context of Gaza, lamented that he will move his focus and reliance from the US towards India, especially in R&D and mutually beneficial defence manufacturing in accordance with ‘Make in India for the world'. As such, on more than one occasion he mentioned that when India acquires a veto as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Israel may not have a need for dependence on the US. That may or may not be the case eventually, but it speaks volumes of the faith in this partnership. ‘I for I' works in tandem with Innovation, Intelligence Sharing and International Relations.

But this is not to say that both sides are on the same side on all issues. One of the key points of difference is the issue of Palestine and expanding settlements, where India differs and disagrees with the Israeli approach. India opposes the settlements in the West Bank, which are violative of the international law and UN resolutions and impinge adversely on any solution to the Palestinian issue. India’s vote at the UN General Assembly in this regard has been consistent. New Delhi has always supported a two-state solution with both countries living side by side in security and sovereignty.

I recall that when, in 1992, we were working on establishing full diplomatic relations with Israel, we informed the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. He was, in fact, welcoming of it and mentioned that “I am happy that our Indian brothers are doing it and can surely put some sense into Israeli heads.” At the recently held (January 30–31) India-Arab League Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Delhi, PM Modi reiterated that “India continues to support the people of Palestine and welcomes ongoing peace efforts, including the Gaza peace plan.” The Delhi Declaration clearly reiterated support for the two-state solution.

The prevailing “Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) syndrome” between Tehran and Tel Aviv has the potential to destabilise the whole region, the escalation of which will have dangerous repercussions for New Delhi. India’s matrix of energy security, economic engagement, millions of expats, and ease of navigation will all be threatened. Hence, security and stability in this volatile region are paramount imperatives for the Indian foreign policy establishment. India has offered its good offices to defuse the situation through dialogue and diplomacy. Hopefully, PM Modi’s upcoming visit will dilute the high tensions currently prevailing, as the serious threat of a US/Israel war with Iran is imminent.

‘Secondly, India has adopted a de-hyphenated foreign policy in West Asia. It enjoys a close and strategic relationship with Iran as well as the Arab world and Israel – each of which is important and stands on its own. But it also welcomes and makes efforts through regional and subregional arrangements like the Abraham Accords, I2U2 and IMEC, where dialogue, diplomacy and peace are the underlying features for viable cooperation.

As the technological frontiers are scaled by both countries, the collaborative matrix will continue to be enriched for mutual benefit, while differences will be resolved in a mature way.

(Anil Trigunayat is a former Indian Ambassador to Jordan, Libya and Malta and Distinguished Fellow and Head of the West Asia Experts Group at the prestigious Vivekananda International Foundation. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the oldest Indian think tank, the United Services Institute of India. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.)