Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, on his first official visit to India, praised the country as a "global superpower" and emphasised the importance of building a long-term strategic partnership between Israel and India.

During his meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, Sa'ar highlighted India as the world's largest democracy and fastest-growing economy, while recognising Israel as a regional powerhouse.

He expressed optimism about strengthening bilateral ties in multiple domains, including political, security, defence, agriculture, trade, and emerging technologies like semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.​

Both leaders reaffirmed a mutual commitment to combat terrorism with a global zero-tolerance approach. Sa'ar condemned the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam and pointed to the shared threat of radical terror faced by both nations.

He described terror states such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Houthis in Yemen as unique challenges Israel confronts, reflecting the urgency to uproot them for regional stability. Sa'ar also supported the eradication and demilitarisation of Gaza in line with President Trump's peace plan, insisting on disarmament of Hamas.​

EAM Jaishankar expressed appreciation for Israel's warm friendship and reiterated India's support for the Gaza Peace Plan while emphasising the shared strategic partnership characterised by a high degree of trust and reliability. The discussions also involved future cooperation in multilateral fora and fostering people-to-people ties.​​

During the visit, the two countries witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on training between India's Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service and Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sa'ar paid homage at the Teen Murti Haifa Chowk Memorial and held talks with India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, focusing on counterterrorism cooperation.​

In September 2025, India and Israel signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement, marking a historic milestone in economic ties. The agreement is designed to boost bilateral investments, currently valued at approximately USD 800 million, by providing investor protection, facilitating dispute resolution through arbitration, and safeguarding investments against expropriation. This paves the way for increased trade and investment flows benefiting both nations' economies.​

Furthermore, the partnership deepened with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation during the 17th India-Israel Joint Working Group meeting.

This MoU sets a unified vision for defence collaboration, including co-development and co-production in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, defence innovation, and research and development. Both countries reiterated their determination to jointly address security challenges such as terrorism.​

The visit underlined Israel and India’s mutual commitment to a broad-spectrum strategic partnership covering security, economic, technological, and diplomatic domains, underscoring India’s rising global stature and Israel’s regional influence.​

Based On ANI Report