PM Modi, Benjamin Netanyahu meet Israel ‘very soon’, rubbishing rumors of delay due to security concerns

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Wednesday and the two leaders “agreed to meet soon”, officials said here. The Israeli PMO said of the phone conversations between Netanyahu and Modi in a social media post: “At the end of the warm and friendly conversation, the two leaders agreed to meet soon.” The long-awaited trip of the Israeli prime minister would come on the heels of several high-level ministerial visits from both sides. Tourism Minister Haim Katz, Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Avi Dichter, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich visited India earlier this year as the strategic partners build momentum to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The two countries signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) during Smotrich’s visit and then a Memorandum of Understanding (TOR) leading to VTA during Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s visit to Israel last month. Informed sources in Israel recently rubbished reports that Netanyahu had postponed his trip to India due to security concerns in the wake of the Delhi blasts. Israel expressed “full confidence” in India’s security apparatus and said the two sides were working on dates for Netanyahu’s visit.