NEW DELHI: New Delhi and Tel Aviv have agreed to deepen defence ties as Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Benjamin Gantz met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held bilateral talks with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.
Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Benjamin Gantz arrived in India on his first official visit on Thursday. Gantz also met India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval during the day.
During his meeting with Modi on Thursday, Gantz told the Indian PM, “We have a great opportunity to deepen defence cooperation between our countries and to build on our shared values.”
Israel is among the top exporters of arms to India – together with Russia, France and the United States — and India has bought weapons worth US$ 2.9 billion from Israel in the last decade. The main purchases include missiles, radars and UAVs.
Earlier in the day, Gantz held discussions with Rajnath Singh on deepening defence ties. The two sides adopted the India-Israel Vision on Defence Cooperation with the “intention to further strengthen the existing framework of the Indo-Israeli defence cooperation architecture,” the Indian Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The two ministers exchanged a Letter of Intent on enhancing cooperation in the field of futuristic defence technologies.
In addition, the Ministers discussed partnerships within the government-to-government framework, military training, and technological cooperation with a focus on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and defensive capabilities, the statement added.
“The two Ministers presented a joint declaration marking 30 years of Israel-India relations and reiterated their commitment to deepening defence ties,” a statement from Gantz’s office said. “India and Israel share similar and common challenges, including border security and fighting terrorism. By working together, we may increase our capabilities and ensure the security and economic interests of both countries,” Gantz said.
Taking to Twitter, Rajnath Singh wrote, “Warm and productive meeting with the Defence Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Gantz in New Delhi. Discussed key issues pertaining to defence cooperation and global & regional scenarios during the bilateral meeting. We place great value on our Strategic Partnership with Israel.” “There is a broad consensus between both the countries on further strengthening the bilateral strategic and defence cooperation.”
