“Reimagining Israeli Relations Through a Civilisational Lens”, My Ind Maker, February 28, 2026
“PM Modi embarked on a two-day state visit to Israel on February 25th at the invitation of Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, amid the US’s massive deployment of forces in the region. The visit comes nine years after PM Modi set a precedent of becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel in 2017. This was followed by a four-day visit of PM Netanyahu to India in February 2018. The High-level back-to-back visits and sustained engagement have energised the relationships and fostered genuine respect between Indians and Israelis to a new high.
The marked upswing in ties was accompanied by an upbeat economic engagement, with bilateral trade reaching a new high of $10.77 billion (excluding defence) in 2022-23, fell to $3.62 billion in 2024-25 due to regional security issues and trade route disruptions. The dastardly October 7 Hamas attacks have fundamentally altered the strategic landscape of the Middle East, ending the illusion of stability. Countries which stood with Israel immediately after the attack started recalibrating their position. As the conflict in Gaza continued, Israel faced partial economic sanctions, an arms embargo and even diplomatic isolation. But Indian engagement with Israel hardly changed. On the contrary, it has intensified and stabilised. India’s long-term defence cooperation remained stable as it continued to import defence supplies from Israel.
As per Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India is the largest defence importer of Israeli defence equipment, accounting for 34% of sales from 2000-2024, worth $20.5 billion. By 2024, the tactical defence purchases transitioned into a partnership with Israeli companies setting up subsidiaries and joint ventures in India, in tune with the ‘Make in India’. By opening production units in India, Israel seeks to anchor New Delhi as its gateway to Asia and penetrate newer markets. Promoting this mutually beneficial cooperation, countries shifted toward co-production, co-development, and transfer of technology, which is the core of the long-term MoU defence cooperation signed in November 2025. It provided a policy framework for defence industrial cooperation, Science & Technology, AI and cybersecurity…….”
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