The Israeli Foreign Minister (FM) Eli Cohen cut short his three-day trip to India hours after landing in New Delhi, as he received a security update about the situation in Israel. The minister is on his first official visit to India.
Cohen tweeted, “In light of the events in Israel, I decided to cut short the diplomatic visit to India and return to Israel after my meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that will take place today.”
Warm welcome to Israeli FM @elicoh1 on his visit to India.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 9, 2023
विदेश मंत्री @elicoh1 का भारत में स्वागत है।
ברוך הבא להודו שר החוץ @elicoh1 pic.twitter.com/2h56SZ9YZm
India-Israel Strategic Partners, Not Competitors
Cohen met his Indian counterpart, Dr S. Jaishankar, in Delhi. The two ministers held bilateral talks discussing the main pillars of the India-Israel Strategic Partnership.
In the talks, the two FMs noted the progress in I2U2 (a partnership between Israel, India, the US, and the UAE), and the exchange perspectives on their respective regions, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific. Cohen said that the cooperation between the two nations would strengthen Israel’s position in the world and stability in the Middle East.
The Israeli FM attended the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) India-Israel Business Forum in Delhi, following which, he accompanied Jaishankar to the Teen Murti Haifa Chowk to pay homage.
“I will raise with PM Modi the issue of a Free Trade Agreement between Israel and India,” Cohen said at the summit. Emphasising that India and Israel are strategic partners, he said, “We are not competing with each other, but we complete each other.”
India and Israel also announced the signing of three MoUs at the summit. Cohen said that while India and Israel mainly cooperate in the areas of agriculture and water technology, there is a need to expand to more sectors like Space, AI, Smart City, and Cybersecurity.
We are proud to announce the signing of three MoUs between #India and #Israel today in the presence of Foreign Minister @elicoh1 & Hon Min @gssjodhpur at @FollowCII. This will mark a new era of cooperation and partnership between our nations. 🇮🇳🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/N0kEut7V8J
— Israel in India (@IsraelinIndia) May 9, 2023
Security Situation in Israel
The Israeli Air Force launched attacks in Gaza and assassinated three senior members of the Islamic Jihad terror group, which prompted a cutting short of Cohen’s India visit.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) dubbed the numerous strikes by Israel on Gaza as “Operation Shield and Arrow.” The strikes led to the killing of 13 people and injured 20 others.
The IDF had launched strikes on Gaza before dawn to respond to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation. The latest violence emerged following Israel and Palestine exchanging fire last week after Khader Adnan, a Palestinian detainee, died in an Israeli prison after an 87-day hunger strike.