Why Isreal's foreign minister Eli Cohen flew back within hours of India arrival
Eli Cohen was scheduled to stay in India till May 11. Prior to leaving for Israel, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his counterpart S Jaishankar on Tuesday.
FollowIsraeli foreign minister Eli Cohen had to leave abruptly for his country within hours of his arrival in India on Tuesday, cutting short his 3-day scheduled visit. The reason cited for his flying back to Tel Aviv was evolving security scenario in his country.
In a tweet, Cohen said: “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 was scheduled to stay in India till May 11. Prior to leaving for Israel, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his counterpart S Jaishankar on Tuesday.
Why did he cut short his visit?
Over 10 Palestinians were killed and 20 others injured after Israel conducted air strikes. Among those killed, include three commanders of the militant group Islamic Jihad. Others are said to be their family members.
It is said to be one of the deadliest attacks in the last year. The Israeli forces have shifted their focus to Gaza since May 2 from West Bank. The Gaza Strip is densely populated with about 2 million Palestinians. It shares a border with Egypt to the south.
Eli meets Rajnath, Jaishankar
The two ministers met in the national capital, wherein the defence minister underlined the government’s priority towards indigenisation in accordance with the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Policy’.
Rajnath Singh acknowledged the cooperation being extended by Israeli companies and encouraged them for more investments in India and for forging joint ventures with Indian partners to manufacture defence equipment in India.
Eli Cohen affirmed the continued cooperation of Israel in India’s endeavour for indigenisation and conveyed the willingness to cooperate & partner in advanced technologies.
He also met Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar following which the latter posted on Twitter, "Productive and wide-ranging discussions with Foreign Minister @elicoh1 of Israel this afternoon. The main pillars of our Strategic Partnership - Agriculture, Water, Defence & Security - are taking our ties forward. New agreements in water & agriculture today underline the potential to do more.
"Discussed cooperation in high tech, digital & innovation, as also connectivity, mobility tourism, finance, and health. Noted the progress in I2U2 and cooperation in multilateral forums. Exchanged perspectives on our respective regions, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific," he added.
