JERUSALEM: The two-day visit of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel (February 25-26, 2026) elevated and transformed India-Israel relations across the spectrum. The talks between PM Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem upgraded and expanded India-Israel ties to the level of “Special Strategic Partnership” that will be marked by closer-than-ever strategic partnership and increased cooperation in technologies, innovation, security, and agriculture. The talks were followed by the signing of 17 pacts, covering diverse sectors including agricultural innovation and technologies, the use of civilian drones, satellite data, irrigation and fertilization management and the transfer of knowledge in advanced agricultural technologies. Ten new announcements were made, which included the launch of a partnership on critical and emerging technologies.
Barely an hour after the talks, Manish Chand, CEO of Centre for Global India Insights, and Editor-in-Chief, India Writes Network, spoke to Israel’s Ambassador to India Reuven Azar about the road ahead for India–Israel relations. In this interview, the Israeli ambassador highlights the “substantial” and “spiritual” dimensions of the partnership’s recent upgrade — including expanded defence cooperation, collaboration in critical and emerging technologies such as AI, and intensification of counter-terror coordination in response to evolving security threats.
(Excerpts from the interview)
Q) The talks between PM Modi and PM Netanyahu have concluded on an extremely optimistic note, with a soaring vision for the future of India-Israel partnership. What was the big takeaway from the talks that will inject a new life into the India–Israel partnership?
A) There is a substantial side, and there is the spiritual side to these talks. On the substantial side, we have seen a very serious upgrade in our cooperation in defence, as well as in finance and emerging technologies.
On the spiritual side, the people of Israel experienced an opening to the warm feelings coming from the Indian people, represented by Shri Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, who delivered a remarkable speech in Knesset, the Israeli parliament, that truly opened the hearts of Israelis.
Q) At the talks in Jerusalem, India and Israel decided to launch a partnership on critical and emerging technologies. What will this partnership involve? Will it also include sharing of technology, co-production, and co-development?
A) In the defence sector, yes. We have created this mechanism, and it will be implemented in the coming weeks when the Director General of the Ministry of Defense visits India to elaborate on the work we have already done to create new joint projects, including co-production and co-development.
On the civilian side, we want to work together on AI. We have signed an MoU on AI. Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Recently, Erez Askal, Director of the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Directorate. He engaged with Indian officials to advance cooperation in AI and technology to co-develop solutions. India and Israel will deepen cooperation in both R&D and data centers.
Q) We heard extraordinarily strong statements from both leaders on terrorism, and Prime Minister Modi reiterated support for Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas terror attacks. Going forward, in what concrete ways are India and Israel going to intensify and step up counter-terror cooperation?
A) All the solutions we are working on in the technology domain will serve the purpose of coping with security threats more efficiently. Terrorism today is not just about AK-47s. It involves sophisticated weapons combined with advanced communication systems.
This requires strengthening capabilities in communication technologies and cyber and introducing AI into areas such as missile defence and drones. We have to work faster than our adversaries and terrorist actors. That is the challenge.
(Manish Chand is CEO & Editor-in-Chief, Centre for Global India Insights and India Writes Network. He visited Israel recently to report on and analyse PM Modi’s visit to Israel. He can be contacted at editor@indiawrites.org)
