GOVERNMENT

Narendra Modi

Prime minister of India

India's formidable prime minister paid an unforgettable official visit to Israel in July 2017. More than a year later, the bilateral relationship between India and the Jewish state is flourishing. During Modi’s Israel visit, seven cooperation agreements were signed in the areas of innovation, technology, water, agriculture, and space science. When Prime Minister Netanyahu paid a reciprocal visit to India in January 2018, the two countries signed nine further agreements in various sectors, including cybersecurity, oil and gas and solar energy. As well as cooperation on trade and economic relations, Modi – a supporter of Israel throughout his political career – is being urged to heed Israeli and American warnings about Iran's nuclear program. Relations between Modi and the Trump administration are less warm, however, with India raising import duties on US goods following the US decision to hike tariffs on steel and aluminium produced abroad. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons.)