PM Modi's 2017 Israel visit was a 'Goosebump moment': S.Jaishankar

Jaishankar made this comment while addressing the gathering in New Delhi on the occasion of 74 years of independence of Israel.  "When I look back at our relationship, in the last several years that I have been associated with, for me the goosebumps moment in a way was at Tel Aviv when the PM visited Israel in July 2017, first Indian PM to visit Israel. And, since then our relationship has really taken off," he said.

External Affairs Minister(EAM) S.Jaishankar on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in 2017 was a "goosebump moment" for him. He also termed the relationship between India and Israel 'truly special'.

Jaishankar made this comment while addressing the gathering in New Delhi on the occasion of 74 years of independence of Israel. 

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"When I look back at our relationship, in the last several years that I have been associated with, for me the goosebumps moment in a way was at Tel Aviv when the PM visited Israel in July 2017, first Indian PM to visit Israel. And, since then our relationship has really taken off," he said.

Talking about the the bilateral relations between India and Israel, jaishankar said that both the countries are focusing on expanding the knowledge based relationship including cooperation in innovation and research. He also said that Israel is an integral part of the 'Make in India' initiatives.

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Talking about the future relations between both the countries, S.Jaishankar said, the most encouraging signs are intellectual students going from here to there and the research projects we are doing with Israel.

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He also hoped that the new Quad, consisting of India, Israel, UAE and the US, would play an important role in expanding economic cooperation in that region.

Appreciating Jaishankar's presence on the occasion, Israeli ambassador to India Naor Gilon said, "I've to quote our Guest of Honour who during his visit to Israel last October said that relations between us didn't start 30 years ago. It's a connection between very old civilizations which is probably the basis for very healthy bilateral relations the two modern countries are having."

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S.Jaishankar further added that the occasion is particularly special for India as the two countries are celebrating 30 years of diplomatic relationship. Additionally, India is also celebrating 75 years of independence and these significant milestones help both the countries to look at horizons of India-Israel's expanding relationships.

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The EAM further recognised the contributions of the Jewish community in India in different fields, on the occasion of 74 years of Israel independence.
 

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