Washington: India’s balanced and pragmatic approach amid the evolving geopolitical landscape in the Middle East is likely to deepen its strategic partnership with Israel. According to a report in the US-based think tank ‘Middle East Forum’, over the past three decades, India’s strategic partnership with Israel has grown steadily and evolved from limited diplomatic interactions into a robust security and technology relationship.
Mutual concerns over terrorism, regional instability, and security challenges have fostered closer ties between the two countries.
“For India,” it said, “Israel has demonstrated its reliability as a defence and technological partner, even as New Delhi has maintained strong ties with Arab states as part of its broader Middle East strategy.”
The report highlighted that over years, the cooperation between India and Israel has expanded to include “intelligence sharing, missile systems, surveillance technologies, and counterterrorism”.
With its leadership in defence innovation, cybersecurity, and advanced military technology, Israel has emerged as an indispensable partner.
Additionally, the 2025 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on joint development and co-production represents a major milestone in the bilateral relationship.
“This transition reflects converging strategic interests. For Israel, collaboration with India helps diversify partnerships and mitigate vulnerabilities in a volatile regional environment. For India, it aligns with efforts to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers and strengthen indigenous defence capabilities under initiatives such as ‘Make in India’,” it detailed.
“Co-production and technology transfer have thus become central pillars of the relationship, and Israel now ranks among India’s most important defence partners. Intelligence cooperation, counterterrorism strategies, and border security technology have also become important pillars as both countries face hostile challenges,” it further stated.
In the last 10 years, the report said, India has also deepened engagement with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and other regional actors in trade, investment, energy, and security cooperation. Several Gulf Arab states have honoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi with their highest civilian awards in recognition of his role in expanding bilateral relations.
Emphasising the Indian administration’s enthusiastic embrace of ties with Israel, the report quoted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as saying, “Israel is a country with which we have a strong record of cooperation in national security. It has also stood by us at different moments when our national security was under threat.”
(IANS)
