{"id":41894,"date":"2026-02-26T15:04:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T15:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=41894"},"modified":"2026-02-26T15:04:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T15:04:27","slug":"india-israel-to-push-free-trade-pact-boost-defence-cooperation-modi-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=41894","title":{"rendered":"India, Israel to push free trade pact, boost defence cooperation, Modi says"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>India will soon finalise a mutually beneficial free trade agreement with Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. The two countries will also pursue joint development, production and transfer of technology in defence, Modi said at the end of his two-day trip to Israel.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Modi said that India and Israel agree there is \u201cno place for terrorism in the world,\u201d as he wrapped up a two-day visit aimed at strengthening ties. The trip, which has drawn criticism at home, marks Modi\u2019s second visit to Israel as prime minister since taking office in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>He highlighted future cooperation in areas including technology and energy. \u201cTogether, we will move forward towards joint development, joint production and the transfer of technology,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the same time, we will also advance our cooperation in areas such as civil nuclear energy and space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read More: Modi says India stands &#8216;firmly&#8217; with Israel<\/p>\n<p>Netanyahu described the visit as \u201camazing\u201d and \u201cextraordinarily productive,\u201d emphasising joint innovation between the two countries. \u201cThe future belongs to those who innovate, and Israel and India are bent on innovation,\u201d Netanyahu said.<\/p>\n<p>At the press conference, several memorandums of understanding were signed in areas including education, geophysical exploration and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We feel your pain\u2019<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Modi told lawmakers at the Knesset that India stood \u201cfirmly\u201d with Israel following Hamas\u2019s attack on October 7, 2023. \u201cI carry with me the deepest condolences of the people of India for every life lost and for every family whose world was shattered in the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7,\u201d Modi said.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s discussions with PM Netanyahu were very fruitful. We\u2019ve taken a historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to a Special Strategic Partnership. This decision reflects the aspirations of the people of both countries.@netanyahu pic.twitter.com\/zXJr2re3Mb<br \/>\n\u2014 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2026<\/p>\n<p>He added that India\u2019s economic growth and Israel\u2019s leadership in technological innovation form a \u201cnatural foundation for our forward-looking partnership,\u201d citing opportunities in quantum technologies, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Netanyahu said Modi\u2019s visit would help \u201cfurther reinforce our ties.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India will soon finalise a mutually beneficial free trade agreement with Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. The two countries will also pursue joint development, production and transfer of technology in defence, Modi said at the end of his two-day trip to Israel. On Thursday, Modi said that India and Israel agree there [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41894\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}