From Cautious Contact To Strategic Embrace: Narendra Modi’s 20-Year Israel Journey

Last Updated:February 24, 2026, 20:00 IST

The roots of this partnership were planted in May 2006, when Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat, joined an Indian delegation at Agritech-2006 in Israel

The diplomatic relationship between India and Israel has undergone a profound metamorphosis over the last two decades, evolving from cautious engagement into a full-scale strategic alliance. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Israel for his second state visit on February 25, the journey represents the culmination of a twenty-year trajectory that began not in the halls of New Delhi, but in the agricultural fields of the Negev desert.

The 2006 Foundation: From Gujarat to the Galilee

The roots of this partnership were planted in May 2006, when Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat, joined an Indian delegation at Agritech-2006 in Israel. This working visit was instrumental in shaping the future of Indian resource management. It was during this tour that Modi publicly articulated the vision of “Per Drop More Crop", a phrase inspired by Israeli micro-irrigation that would later become the official motto of India’s national irrigation scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana.

During this 2006 visit, the Chief Minister engaged in technical seminars on desalination and wastewater recycling with the TAHAL Group and met with Netafim to discuss applying drip irrigation to Gujarat’s drought-prone districts. These early interactions at kibbutzim and research centres like the Volcani Institute provided the technical blueprint for the “Second Green Revolution" that Modi would later champion on a national scale.

The 2017 Breakthrough: De-hyphenation and History

In July 2017, the relationship reached a historic zenith when Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to undertake a bilateral visit to Israel. This 49-hour tour was a masterclass in “de-hyphenation," as PM Modi visited Israel without a concurrent stop in Ramallah, signalling that India’s ties with Israel would henceforth stand on their own merit.

The visit was marked by deeply personal symbolism, including the naming of a new chrysanthemum breed as the “MODI" flower and a globally shared photograph of the two leaders wading barefoot into the Mediterranean at a desalination demonstration. Crucially, PM Modi used this trip to honour the forgotten history of the Indian soldiers who fell during the liberation of Haifa in 1918, becoming the first Indian premier to lay a wreath at the Haifa Military Cemetery. This visit formalised nine major agreements, including the creation of a $40 million industrial R&D fund (I4F) and a three-year work programme in agriculture that institutionalised the visions first discussed in 2006.

The 2026 Return: A Strategic Maturity

The 2026 visit follows a rigorous 24-month diplomatic “runway," characterised by high-level security and economic coordination. In the year leading up to this return, the two nations signed a landmark Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)—the first India has ever signed with an OECD member—and launched formal Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

The current engagement is underpinned by massive defence acquisitions, such as the $3.85 billion Heron TP drone deal, which includes significant “Make in India" components. As the two leaders meet amidst a volatile regional landscape, the dialogue has shifted from the “romance" of agricultural cooperation to the hard realities of anti-ballistic missile defence and quantum computing, solidifying an axis of stability between two of the world’s most resilient democracies.

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