Why is it in news?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit India between 14-19 January, 2018. The visit is a reciprocating gesture from Israel to the first Prime Minister-level visit from India undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2017.

Details

• Mr. Netanyahu will be the second Israeli Prime Minister to visit India; Ariel Sharon was the first Israeli PM to visit India in 2003, during the tenure of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. An Israeli business delegation will also accompany him.
• The visit marks the high point of the 25th anniversary of normal diplomatic ties between the two countries. Apart from Mr. Modi’s visit to Israel, President Pranab Mukherjee and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj have also visited Israel in the last three years.
• India’s ties with Israel have been in focus as India voted at the United Nations General Assembly last month against the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The move was criticised by some sections of commentators, whereas India had defended it citing traditional policy on the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The visit indicates an upswing in bilateral ties and it also signals that India’s vote didn’t have much of a toll on the ties, which was also later confirmed by the Israeli ambassador.
• The visit of the Israeli leader is symbolically significant. It is reported that he will be accompanied by the relatives of the Jewish priest who was killed along with his wife in the 26/11 attack in Mumbai. Mr. Netanyahu is also expected to offer his tributes to the victims of terrorism during his trip to Mumbai. In Mumbai, he will also reach out to the film world with the ‘Shalom Bollywood’ event.
• The visit might also result in formation of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among both countries on several fields like Oil and gas, Renewable energy, Science and technology, Cyber security, Protocols for airports, Co-production of films, documentaries and Homeopathy and Ayurveda.

Source

The Hindu