New Delhi: Even as he talked up Arab trains with Indian goods travelling to Israeli ports, the first visit to India by Eli Cohen as Israeli foreign minister had to be cut short after Israel launched a major military offensive against militant targets in Gaza.
After being appointed as foreign minister last December, Likud lawmaker and former intelligence minister Eli Cohen was scheduled to be visited New Delhi and Mumbai for three days this week.
Just as he arrived on Tuesday, media reported that the Israeli military conducted early morning airstrikes against the militant group Islamic Jihad in Gaza, killing three militants. Palestinian officials had said that airstrikes had killed at least 10 civilians, including children.
Cohen tweeted on arrival that he would leave India soon after meeting with the Indian prime minister. “I landed a short time ago in New Delhi, the capital of India, and immediately upon landing I received a security update. In light of the events in Israel, I decided to cut short the diplomatic visit to India and return to Israel after my meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that will take place today,” he wrote.
During his speech at the CII India-Israel Business Forum, Cohen asserted that connectivity was the key to the future of India-Israel relations. “Israel, the Abraham Accords countries and India is the gate from the east to the west and we analyse it economically. And if you see the trades that come from India will go to Saudi Arabia, and then by train till Haifa Port in Israel and from there to the markets in Europe,” he said.
Cohen asserted that this route can be “very important to our future”.
The Israeli foreign minister’s underlining of connectivity of rail networks came just after Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was in Riyadh to discuss similar projects with his US and Emirati counterparts, as well as Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Meanwhile, three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between India and Israel in the presence of Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Cohen.
After meeting with Cohen, India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said that they noted the “progress in I2U2 and cooperation in multilateral forums”. They also discussed Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.
Two agreements on water and agriculture were signed, while another on mobility was initialled.
“The main pillars of our Strategic Partnership – Agriculture, Water, Defence & Security – are taking our ties forward,” tweeted Jaishankar.