This article outlines the political relationship between India and Israel: the establishment of diplomatic relations, visits and contacts between leaders, ministerial and official exchanges, dialogue mechanisms and the statements and agreements concluded along the way. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of February 2026, which gives its information as on 06.02.2026.

Establishment of relations

India announced its recognition of Israel on 17 September 1950. Regular embassies opened in 1992, when full diplomatic relations were established between the two countries.

According to the MEA brief of February 2026, India and Israel are strategic partners. The brief describes their bilateral political ties as warm and forward-looking.

Visits by leaders

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel on 4-6 July 2017, a visit the brief calls historic, and ties were upgraded to a strategic partnership. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reciprocated with a visit to India on 14-19 January 2018. Joint statements were issued on both occasions. Prime Minister Modi paid a State Visit to Israel on 25-26 February 2026 at the invitation of Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the two sides elevated ties to a Special Strategic Partnership for Peace, Innovation and Prosperity.

Other visits at the level of head of state or government recorded in the brief are:

  • December 1996: the then President Ezer Weizman visited India.
  • September 2003: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited India, and the Delhi Statement on Friendship and Cooperation was signed.
  • October 2015: President Pranab Mukherjee visited Israel.
  • November 2016: President Reuven Rivlin visited India.

Prime Minister Modi has also met Israeli leaders at multilateral events. He met the then Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at COP26 in Glasgow on 2 November 2021. At COP 28 in Dubai on 1 December 2023, he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog to discuss regional conflicts and bilateral issues.

Contacts between the Prime Ministers

The brief records the following telephone conversations between the two Prime Ministers:

  • 24 April 2025: Prime Minister Netanyahu called Prime Minister Modi to offer his condolences on the Pahalgam terror attack of 22 April.
  • June 2025: following the outbreak of the Israel-Iran conflict on 13 June 2025, the two Prime Ministers spoke by phone, and Prime Minister Netanyahu briefed Prime Minister Modi on the prevailing situation.
  • 9 October 2025: Prime Minister Modi called Prime Minister Netanyahu to congratulate him on the progress made under President Trump's Gaza peace plan.
  • 10 December 2025: the Prime Ministers spoke about the situation in the region.
  • 7 January 2026: they exchanged New Year greetings and discussed the regional situation.

I2U2

On 14 July 2022, the Prime Minister took part, virtually, in the first leaders' summit of I2U2. The other participants were the then Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Yair Lapid, the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the then President of the US, Joseph R. Biden.

Foreign Ministers

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S. Jaishankar visited Israel on 16-17 December 2025 at the invitation of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and the two sides adopted the Joint Work Plan for 2026. EAM also called on the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Foreign Minister Sa'ar had paid a two-day visit to India in November 2025, during which he met EAM and the NSA. The two Foreign Ministers had detailed discussions on the entire spectrum of the India-Israel Strategic Partnership. They witnessed the signing of an MOU between the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. Earlier, they had met on 15 February 2025 on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Earlier exchanges at Foreign Minister level recorded in the brief include:

  • visits to Israel by External Affairs Ministers Jaswant Singh in 2000, S.M. Krishna in 2012 and Sushma Swaraj in 2016
  • visits to India by Shimon Peres as Foreign Minister in 1993 and as Minister for Regional Cooperation in 2000
  • EAM Dr S. Jaishankar's visit to Israel on 17-21 October 2021, at the invitation of FM Yair Lapid, during which Israel ratified the International Solar Alliance

EAM and the then Israeli FM Eli Cohen held phone talks on 5 January, 4 November and 12 December 2023, including after the October 7 attacks.

Parliamentary and other ministerial visits

A Knesset delegation led by Speaker Amir Ohana visited India on 31 March to 4 April 2023 and signed an MoU on parliamentary cooperation. According to the brief, this was his first foreign trip and the first by an Israeli Speaker to India.

Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev visited India on 2-6 September 2023 and again on 12-13 February 2024.

Security and official-level contacts

NSA Ajit Doval visited Israel on 11-12 March 2024, meeting Prime Minister Netanyahu and his then counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi. Israel's Deputy NSA, Joseph Draznin, visited India on 11-14 February 2025. The Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eden Bar-Tal, visited India on 17-20 March 2025 for the Raisina Dialogue.

The 17th India-Israel Foreign Service Consultations were held in New Delhi on 28 August 2024.