Cabinet Secretariat in New Delhi, which administers the Government of India. Photo: wiki commons.

Four of India’s top naval warships docked in Haifa this week as part of a four-day visit to Israel to “strengthen service-to-service linkages” and celebrate 20 years of diplomatic ties, the Economic Times reported.

The warships, which are equipped with advanced electronic sensors and missile systems, show “the importance India attaches to the growing Indo-Israeli relations, and continued cooperation and engagement between the two countries is expected to grow,” Indian officials said.

Indian sailors will also pay their respects at a memorial of Indian soldiers who died fighting for Allied forces during the liberation of Haifa from Ottoman rule in World War I. Stories of the Indian soldiers’ bravery were recently included in Haifa’s school curriculum.