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The West Asian portion is staring astatine the anticipation of its worst ever subject struggle with 1 of the largest American subject buildups successful the Persian Gulf. Iran is defiant and has refused to bow down to ‘unreasonable demands’ from the United States. Concurrently, successful Gaza, though the ceasefire has held since October 2025, the prospects of lasting bid inactive look remote. In addition, emerging responsibility lines successful the portion are drafting allies specified arsenic the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia into opposing subject blocs.
In the midst of specified an uncertain information situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is acceptable to undertake a two-day sojourn to Israel (February 25-26, 2026). This volition beryllium Mr. Modi’s 2nd sojourn to Israel, pursuing his historical archetypal sojourn successful July 2017 — the archetypal by immoderate Indian Prime Minister. Notably, this is simply a standalone sojourn with nary engagement with Palestinian Authority leadership, highlighting India’s occurrence successful “de-hyphenating” its Israel engagement.
The question, however, that arises is wherefore this visit? What relation tin India play successful this fragile information concern successful the region? With India and Israel facing akin information threats, however tin they instrumentality this precise important concern forward?
Convergence successful a information partnership
Surrounded by hostile neighbours and arsenic victims of predominant panic attacks, some countries person often sought convergence connected information and defence issues. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), India has been Israel’s largest defence lawsuit for respective years, accounting for astir 34% of Israel’s full arms exports betwixt 2020 and 2024. The practice has gradually progressed from imports to associated improvement and exertion collaboration.
Over the past fewer decades, Israel has provided India with a fig of cutting-edge technologies, limb and surveillance platforms specified arsenic unmanned aerial vehicles, missiles, peculiar forces instrumentality and radar systems. The Barak-8 aerial and rocket defence system, co-developed by India and Israel, is 1 specified occurrence story. During Israel Defence Minister Benjamin Gantz’s sojourn to New Delhi successful June 2022, determination was the ‘India-Israel Vision connected Defence Cooperation’ for enhancing practice successful the tract of futuristic defence technologies. In November 2025, India and Israel signed an statement to deepen practice successful defence, manufacture and technology, including the sharing of precocious systems to enactment associated improvement and production.
For India, determination were lessons from its acquisition successful Operation Sindoor (May 2025) — the request for a beardown and impregnable aerial (including anti-drone) and rocket defence shield nether Mission ‘Sudarshan Chakra’. There are inputs that determination could beryllium peculiar absorption connected it during Mr. Modi’s sojourn including the procurement and co-production of the ‘Iron Beam’ — a 100kW-class high-energy laser strategy susceptible of intercepting drones, rockets, and mortars efficiently and cost-effectively. There are besides reports that Autonomous Guard, an Israeli institution has signed a woody with an Indian backstage defence steadfast valued astatine astir $$1.9 million, which would screen the proviso of precocious surveillance and threat-detection systems, specialising successful sensor-based reflection technologies.
The science, exertion and innovation link
India has benefited immensely from Israel’s occurrence successful modern exertion and innovations, particularly successful agriculture, h2o and electronics. There are much than 35 Centres of Excellence (CoE) successful India which are focused successful precocious prime and high-density accumulation of flowers, vegetables, fruits (mango, citrus, litchi, day palm, pomegranate), and beekeeping. Water absorption technologies excessively are critical, particularly with galore water-scarce areas successful India. MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation nether Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed agreements with Haryana successful June 2022 and Rajasthan successful December 2024 to collaborate connected integrated h2o assets absorption and capableness building. With Artificial Intelligence (AI) rapidly emerging arsenic a cardinal operator of modern technology, it is expected to go a absorption country successful aboriginal bilateral practice and innovation initiatives.
Israel-India bilateral commercialized is often overshadowed by information cooperation. It, however, remains a important pillar of engagement. India is Israel’s second-largest trading spouse successful Asia, with bilateral commercialized reaching $3.75 cardinal successful FY2024-2025. While merchandise commercialized continues to beryllium dominated by diamonds, petroleum and chemicals, the concern is expanding into electronics, high-tech products, communications and aesculapian equipment.
In September 2025, during the sojourn of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, India and Israel signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement. This was followed by the signing of the Terms of Reference for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s sojourn to Israel successful November 2025. With India having precocious concluded respective important commercialized deals, the FTA with Israel could summation the indispensable momentum during Mr. Modi’s visit. Israel is besides keen to found arrangements and exemptions for Indian infrastructure companies to enactment successful gathering captious roads and ports. Additionally, akin to India’s statement with Russia, Israel whitethorn prosecute a woody to facilitate “human mobility” to pull skilled Indian talent.
Another cardinal facet to ticker during the Modi sojourn is the advancement of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Announced astatine the G-20 Summit successful Delhi successful September 2023, this intercontinental connectivity task holds strategical value for some countries. Although the Gaza struggle had temporarily stalled the initiative, determination is present a renewed consciousness of urgency to beforehand it. Recent commercialized agreements with the European Union, Oman, and the UAE are expected to boost commercialized successful some worth and volume, creating the request for a shorter and safer transport route. With the Suez Canal way susceptible to disruptions from determination conflicts, IMEC could supply an alternative, unafraid corridor to Europe. But achieving lasting bid successful Gaza remains important for the project’s success.
Gaza bid process and determination dynamics
Discussion connected the Gaza bid process is simply a definite likelihood. During the caller ‘Summit’ of the Board of Peace, presided implicit by U.S. President Donald Trump connected February 19, 2026,. much than 50 countries participated, with immoderate pledging $7 cardinal successful backing and others committing troops to the International Stabilisation Force. India attended arsenic an perceiver and has not yet defined its relation successful the process. Given India’s beardown ties with some the Gulf portion and Israel, discussions whitethorn see imaginable avenues for India’s engagement successful Gaza.
Both leaders are besides expected to sermon determination dynamics successful depth, including developments successful Iran, fixed the imaginable implications of struggle for India and the wider region, peculiarly with respect to India’s vigor security. India’s hosting of the 2nd India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (IAFMM), successful January 2026, on with Mr. Modi’s visits to Jordan and Oman (December 2025), and the sojourn of the UAE President successful January 2026, show the cautious equilibrium that India has forged successful the region. This sets the signifier for a constructive and realistic treatment connected assorted determination issues during the visit.
Ahead of the Modi visit, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted this: “we volition make a ‘hexagon’ of alliances astir oregon wrong the Middle East. This includes India, Arab nations, African nations, Mediterranean nations (Greece and Cyprus), and nations successful Asia ...The volition present is to make an axis of nations that spot eye-to-eye connected the reality, challenges and goals against the extremist axes, some the extremist Shiite axis, which we person struck precise hard, and the emerging extremist Sunni axis.”
India, however, does not needfully spot things successful the portion from this lens. How India reacts to specified a proposal, fixed however adjacent India’s ties are with countries successful the region, volition besides beryllium a happening to beryllium watched.
Mr. Modi’s sojourn is being intimately watched, arsenic India and Israel are astatine pivotal points successful their journeys. Despite home differences, the 2 person built a beardown strategical concern implicit the past decade. Mr. Modi’s code to the Knesset — a privilege usually reserved for U.S. Presidents — and his sojourn to a Jerusalem innovation centre item the visit’s significance. It is acold much than regular diplomacy, with imaginable semipermanent implications for some countries and the region.
Rajeev Agarwal is simply a overseas argumentation expert, a retired colonel, and Senior Research Consultant, Chintan Research Foundation (CRF)
