Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Aug 11: India’s Ambassador to Israel JP Singh met Eynat Shlein, Head of MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, in Jerusalem on Monday and discussed ways to further expand the India-Israel development partnership.
“Amb JP Singh met Ms Eynat Shlein, Head of MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, in Jerusalem today. Discussed the wide-ranging India-Israel development partnership through MASHAV, including Centres of Excellence in agriculture, capacity-building in agriculture and water, and new avenues of cooperation in aquaculture,” the Indian Embassy in Israel said in a post on X.
The two sides also exchanged views on further expanding and deepening the partnership.
MASHAV, under Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was established to help developing countries address development challenges by sharing Israeli expertise, know-how and technologies that contributed to the country’s own development.
The meeting comes amid continued engagement between India and Israel on their Special Strategic Partnership.
On Thursday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke by phone with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders reviewed progress in various areas of the bilateral partnership and discussed the prevailing situation in West Asia.
“Received a phone call from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We reviewed progress on various aspects of the India-Israel Special Strategic Partnership, which continues to grow from strength to strength. We also exchanged views on the current situation in West Asia,” Modi said in a post on X.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the leaders reviewed sustained progress in the Special Strategic Partnership and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation across various sectors for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
“The two leaders agreed to remain in touch,” the PMO said.
Meanwhile, India and Israel in July concluded the second round of negotiations for the proposed India-Israel Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi.
The two sides held constructive discussions across key chapters and reaffirmed their commitment to an early conclusion of a balanced and mutually beneficial FTA.