The Indo-Israeli bonhomie continues in 2018, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is gearing up for a four-day visit to the South Asian country.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said in a statement that PM Netanyahu will arrive in western Indian city of Ahmedabad on January 14 (six months after his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi’s maiden trip to the Jewish nation). The ministry also said that Prime Minister Modi would receive the Israeli premier on his arrival. According to the MEA, it’s an important event as Netanyahu will be the second Israeli premier to tour India since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992. Ariel Sharon was the last Israeli premier to visit the country in 2003.
A senior MEA official said that the visiting Israeli leader would meet the top Indian political leadership in New Delhi on January 15-16 before arriving in Mumbai on January 17. The official, who wished to remain anonymous, stressed: “The detailed programme is being still worked out, but it will include meetings with top leadership in India.” Before leaving for Tel Aviv on January 18, Prime Minister Netanyahu may also visit Agra.

Meanwhile, the Israeli premier told the press: “In the past year, I have visited all continents besides Antarctica. And in January, I will make a reciprocal visit to my dear good friend, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, whose population is a significant part of humanity.”
Modi’s visit to Israel in July 2017 marked 25 years of establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties. Interestingly, the Indian premier skipped Palestine during his trip to the region, prompting experts to analyse the change in New Delhi’s policies towards West Asia.
However, New Delhi rejected such a view, insisting that India still supports the creation of a Palestinian State. In November 2017, PM Modi presented his government’s position on the issue, saying that India would continue to support nation building activities by the Palestinians. He further urged for the creation of a Palestinian State that would ‘peacefully’ co-exist with Israel. “We hope for early realisation of a sovereign, independent, united and viable Palestine, co-existing peacefully with Israel,” stressed Modi.

Historically, India maintained the position that its relationship with Israel was based on a priority accorded to Palestine. First Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru made clear to the Zionist emissary Immanuel Olsvanger in 1936 that he would never tolerate imperialism in India or Palestine. Despite (formally) recognising Israel in 1950, India established full diplomatic ties with the Jewish nation only in 1992. Thereafter, India gradually strengthened ties with Israel in a changing global geopolitical landscape.
Professor of International Relations at Trinity College Vijay Prashad explained: “India’s road to Washington and arms lay through Israel. After India’s nuclear weapon tests in 1998, the US imposed economic and military sanctions. During the 1999 war with Pakistan, Israel supplied arms to India, which were American in any case. India under Indira Gandhi had already reached out to Israel in 1971 for arms despite absent diplomatic ties. The Palestine issue started getting sidelined long ago, while the Indian National Congress was in power.”

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Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das