External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is set to fly to Israel via the United Arab Emirates to forge a joint  approach to stem the tide of radicalism radiating from the region.

This will be the first high-level engagement between the Modi government and the new Naftali Bennett dispensation in Israel. Jaishankar will be meeting the Prime Minister Bennet and  his counterpart Yair Lapid. Lapid is any ordinary foreign minister. He is Israel’s  alternate prime minister in Israel’s new coalition government. Bennett will therefore cede premiership in 2023 to Yair Lapid.

In August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Bennett for assuming office as Israel's Prime Minister in June. Both leaders then agreed to draw a  roadmap for further enriching the India-Israel strategic partnership.

“Israel and UAE are one of India’s closest allies like Japan and Singapore apart from big partners like US and Russia. With the new government now firmly ensconced in Israel, it is time that both close partners exchanged notes on global issues like Afghanistan, Middle East, Indo-Pacific and terrorism,” the  Hindustan Times reported quoting a former foreign secretary.

In tune with the important visit, the Israeli foreign ministry spotlighted shared cultural bonds of the two “strategic” partners.

“Shubho Bijoya/Happy Dussehra to all of you, on the eve of @DrSJaishankar’s  important visit to Israel. India is a strategic partner and a very close friend.” Ambassador Alon Ushpiz, the director general at Israel's foreign ministry, said on Twitter. Jaishankar will visiting Tel Aviv via Dubai.

Shubho Bijoya/Happy Dussehra to all of you, on the eve of @DrSJaishankar’s important visit to Israel. India is a strategic partner and a very close friend pic.twitter.com/9BQuEUons3

— Alon Ushpiz (@AlonUshpiz) October 15, 2021

Ties between India and Israel have grown steadily since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992. Relations were further  boosted when Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to delink India-Israel ties from India-Palestinian ties. Modi paid a visit to Israel in July 2017, the first by an Indian prime minister to the Jewish nation. Earlier this year, New Delhi expressed strong support for the Israelis as  they battled Hamas’s insurgents in the Gaza Strip.

India is the largest buyer of Israel's military hardware and the latter has been supplying various weapon systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles over the last few years.

Jaishankar will be reaching Dubai on October17 for a day to meet the leadership over the regional environment, including the situation in Afghanistan and central Asia. He will be touching down in Israel on October 19 for a three-day visit.

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