Winning Bizness Desk
Mumbai.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday concluded his two-day visit to Israel with a strong push for technology, trade and digital cooperation, even as no new defence agreement was signed during the trip. Addressing a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Modi described the relationship as a special partnership and said both countries were moving swiftly to finalise a bilateral trade deal.
Special partnership gets stronger push
Modi thanked Netanyahu and his wife for hosting him and the Indian delegation. He said he paid tribute to 140 crore Indians and the people of Israel during his visit. Calling the friendship between the two nations unique, he said both sides had agreed to expand cooperation in critical and emerging technologies. He stressed that innovation and joint development would define the next phase of ties.
Netanyahu described the visit as an amazing conclusion to an amazing engagement. He said India and Israel would continue to work closely in agriculture and innovation. He added that the future belongs to those who innovate and praised India for having an efficient government system. Netanyahu also suggested that India should host the next Government-to-Government meeting between the two countries.
Major agreements signed across sectors
Several agreements and Memoranda of Understanding were signed during the visit. These include cooperation in agriculture, artificial intelligence, maritime heritage and financial systems. The key pacts are:
- MoU on India-Israel Innovation Centre for Agriculture
- MoU in the field of geo-physical aspiration
- MoU on development of National Maritime Heritage Complex
- Declaration of intent in the field of horizon scanning
- MoU on advancing education and artificial intelligence
Digital and financial cooperation expands
In a significant move, India extended its flagship Unified Payments Interface services to Tel Aviv. An MoU was signed between NPCI and Mossad for UPI linking, marking a major step in digital financial integration. Other agreements included cooperation in fisheries and aquaculture, commercial arbitration, and artificial intelligence.
Additional pacts included:
- MoU between International Financial Services Centre Authority and International Security Authority
- Agreement on commercial arbitration
- MoU on artificial intelligence
- Implementation protocol covering commerce, services, restaurants and manufacturing centres
- Letter of intent on establishment of a Cyber Centre of Excellence
No fresh defence pact this time
Notably, no new defence agreement was announced during the visit. In 2025, India and Israel had signed an MoU on defence cooperation focused on sharing advanced technologies and co-developing and co-producing defence systems. However, during the current visit, there were no fresh announcements in this sector.
Officials indicated that defence ties remain strong but the focus of this visit was on trade, technology, digital payments and innovation-led partnerships. Both leaders underlined that cooperation would continue across sectors and that the strategic relationship would be further strengthened in the coming months.
