Israel has postponed its Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s visit to New Delhi next week after he tested positive for Covid-19 two days back. He was scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 3. The visit was also to mark 30 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Announcing the postponement, Israel Embassy spokesperson Muhamed Heib also said here the visit will be rescheduled.
It was to be Bennett's first India visit after assuming office as Prime Minister last year. He was scheduled to visit India during April 3-5 at the invitation of the Indian prime minister.
In a related development, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Gantz on Tuesday. They expressed their desire to further strengthen the bilateral ties. The telephonic talks came shortly after Israel announced the postponement of Bennett's visit. The Israeli defence minister is likely to visit India next week.
"Had a telephonic conversation with the Defence Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Gantz. Shared my condolences on loss of innocent lives due to terror attacks in Israel. Terrorism is a global menace which has no place in today's civilised world," Rajnath said in a tweet.
In another tweet, he said both the countries look forward to further strengthening the bilateral relations as India and Israel complete 30 years of full diplomatic relations. "Defence cooperation is the founding pillar of our strategic partnership.
Military cooperation has been on an upward swing in recent years," Rajnath said. "Also, I wished for the speedy recovery of Israeli Prime Mr. Naftali Bennett who recently tested positive for Covid," he added.
Modi and his Israeli counterpart had earlier met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow in November last year. They also had telephonic talks on August 16, 2021.
India and Israel elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership during the visit of Modi to Israel in July 2017. Since then, the two countries have continued to deepen their strategic partnership, with a focus on innovation and research, read the statement.