Prime Minister spoke on phone today with His Excellency Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel.

He reiterated his warm congratulations for Prime Minister Netanyahu's recent assumption of office, and expressed confidence that the India-Israel partnership would continue to flourish under PM Netanyahu's leadership and guidance.

The leaders discussed the potential areas in which India and Israel could expand their cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, including research and development efforts in the fields of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. They agreed to maintain the ongoing exchanges between expert teams of both countries, and also concurred that the fruits of such collaboration should be made available for the wider benefit of humanity.

The leaders reviewed other important topics on the bilateral agenda, and agreed that the post-COVID world would create further avenues for mutually beneficial partnerships in many areas. In particular, they assessed tremendous scope for expanding the already robust India-Israel collaboration in areas like health technology, agricultural innovation, defence-cooperation and information technology.

Both leaders agreed to remain in regular touch to share assessments and consult each other on the emerging opportunities and challenges in the changing global scenario.

New Delhi
June 10, 2020