Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon will visit India from February 18 to 20, to participate in the “Aero India Show 2015” in Bengaluru, and also meet his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar in New Delhi. India and Israel have a robust defence trade but this is the first such visit since both countries established diplomatic relations in 1991.
The India-Israel bilateral has strengthened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his maiden visit to the U.N. General Assembly in New York in September 2014 and the Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh made a trip to Tel Aviv soon after. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is also expected to visit Israel later this year.
Moshe Ya’alon is accompanied by the Director General of Ministry of Defence Maj. Gen. Dan Harel and an entourage of 30 Israeli Defence companies and is expected to sign deals worth $1.5 billion.
Israeli exports to India crossed the $6 billion mark in 2014. The defense exports alone amounted to about $2.5 billion in the same period.