Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem Wednesday. Photo: Haim Zach/GPO.

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an invitation from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit India in the near future, and the two leaders signed seven cooperation deals on Wednesday during Modi’s historic visit to the Jewish state.

“Our talks focused on not just areas of bilateral opportunities, but also how our cooperation can help the cause of global peace and stability,” Modi said.

“We are making history together with my friend Prime Minister Modi, and this is a deeply moving moment for me,” said Netanyahu.

The seven deals signed between Israel and India focus on cooperation in a wide range of fields from defense ties, to satellite and space technology, to water and agriculture. The nations established a $40 million innovation fund for industrial development research as well as a strategic partnership on water conservation and the reuse of water for agriculture.

“We agreed that efficiency of water and resource use; water conservation and its purification; productivity increases in agriculture are key areas in deepening our bilateral cooperation,” Modi said.

Additionally, the two leaders emphasized their fight against terrorism and radicalization.

“India has suffered firsthand the violence and hatred spread by terror, so has Israel,” Modi said. “Netanyahu and I have agreed to do much more together to protect our strategic interests and also cooperate to fight growing radicalization.”

The Israel Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organization signed a first-of-its-kind agreement to collaborate on adapting Israeli technologies, such as electric propulsion systems for small satellites and the creation of an accurate system for measuring time in outer space.

India is Israel’s 10th-largest trade partner worldwide and its second-largest trade partner in Asia after China/Hong Kong. In 2016, trade between Israel and India amounted to $4 billion.