In a symbolic gesture of warming ties, the Israeli Parliament was lit tonight in the saffron, white and green colours of the Indian flag ahead of a high-profile state visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The illumination of the Knesset comes less than 24 hours before Modi arrives in Israel for a two-day visit that is being described as historic by officials in both capitals.
Modi is expected to land in Jerusalem on Wednesday, February 25, for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a speech to the Knesset and meetings with senior leaders including President Isaac Herzog. It will be the Indian prime minister’s second official visit to Israel; his first in 2017 marked a major milestone in bilateral relations.
The agenda goes far beyond ceremony. Both sides are set to discuss expanding strategic partnerships in defence, technology, security and trade, including updates to a security cooperation agreement and possible new collaboration in artificial intelligence, cyber security and advanced technologies. Officials also see the visit as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in agriculture, water management and broader economic ties.
Netanyahu has publicly praised India’s rising influence on the world stage and framed the visit as part of a vision for an international “axis of nations” aligned on shared security and economic goals. Modi, for his part, described the relationship with Israel as built on “trust, innovation and a shared commitment to peace and progress.”
Tonight’s lighting of the Knesset in India’s flag colours is being seen by diplomats in Jerusalem as both a symbolic welcome and a signal of the deepening partnership between two of the world’s largest democracies as they seek to project coordination on global issues in the coming years.