{"id":5133,"date":"2026-02-26T20:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/india-and-israel-pledge-to-boost-cooperation-on-trade-defence\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T20:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:36:12","slug":"india-and-israel-pledge-to-boost-cooperation-on-trade-defence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/india-and-israel-pledge-to-boost-cooperation-on-trade-defence\/","title":{"rendered":"India and Israel pledge to boost cooperation on trade, defence"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>Narendra Modi\u2019s visit to Israel has drawn criticism at home amid tensions over Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Prime Minister <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2026\/2\/23\/how-modi-broke-down-walls-between-india-israel-at-palestines\">Narendra Modi<\/a> says India and Israel will collaborate more closely on defence technology while pursuing a free trade agreement, as he wrapped up a controversial two-day visit.<\/p>\n<p>Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu said at a joint news conference in Jerusalem on Thursday that they would also foster collaboration on technologies, such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, as their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2026\/2\/26\/who-is-really-safe-in-india-and-israel\">countries<\/a> concluded more than a dozen bilateral agreements.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/26\/india-israel-axis-what-are-the-imec-corridor-i2u2-grouping-modi-spoke-of\">India-Israel axis: What are the IMEC corridor, I2U2 grouping Modi spoke of?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2026\/2\/26\/who-is-really-safe-in-india-and-israel\">Who is really safe in India and Israel?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2026\/2\/26\/from-gaza-to-defence-five-key-takeaways-from-indian-pm-modis-israel-visit\">From Gaza to defence: Five key takeaways from Indian PM Modi\u2019s Israel visit<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cThe future belongs to those who innovate and Israel and India are bent on innovation,\u201d said Netanyahu. \u201cWe\u2019re proud ancient civilisations, very proud of our past. But absolutely determined to seize the future, and we can do it better together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A joint statement highlighted cooperation in the field of \u201chorizon scanning\u201d, describing it as a mechanism that \u201chelps identify emerging global trends in areas like technology, economy and society, by leveraging data\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Israel also agreed to allow 50,000 more Indian nationals into the country, where tens of thousands of South Asians have filled construction and caregiving jobs since new restrictions were placed on Palestinian workers at the start of its war on Gaza.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"strategic-embrace\">Strategic embrace<\/h2>\n<p>Modi\u2019s visit, his second since he took office in 2014, has drawn criticism at home, signalling an ongoing expansion of India\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/25\/why-indian-pm-modis-israel-visit-matters-for-pakistans-security\">strategic embrace<\/a> of Israel amid ongoing tensions over Israel\u2019s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, which has killed more than 72,000 people.<\/p>\n<p>Confirming their growing ties, the leaders\u2019 joint statement referenced the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and an April 2025 attack on tourists and civilians in Pahalgam, in Indian-controlled Kashmir.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTerrorism cannot be accepted in any form or expression,\u201d said Modi, who has historically supported the establishment of a Palestinian state yet has sometimes abstained from criticism of Israel in international forums, including the United Nations.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, India was among the countries that condemned <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/26\/global-impunity-fuels-israels-illegal-push-to-annex-west-bank-amnesty\">Israeli measures<\/a> to effectively deepen its control over the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n<p>Both countries also lauded United States President Donald Trump\u2019s plan to advance the \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/1\/16\/us-declares-phase-two-of-gaza-ceasefire-but-what-did-phase-one-deliver\">ceasefire<\/a>\u201d in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Narendra Modi\u2019s visit to Israel has drawn criticism at home amid tensions over Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India and Israel will collaborate more closely on defence technology while pursuing a free trade agreement, as he wrapped up a controversial two-day visit. Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu said &#8230; <a title=\"India and Israel pledge to boost cooperation on trade, defence\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/india-and-israel-pledge-to-boost-cooperation-on-trade-defence\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about India and Israel pledge to boost cooperation on trade, defence\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}