Netanyahu says Indian prime minister to visit Israel Wednesday, address Knesset

JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, will visit Israel on Wednesday and deliver a speech before the Knesset.

Israel “will create an entire system — essentially a kind of hexagon of alliances — around or within the Middle East,” Netanyahu said during a Cabinet meeting on Sunday, as cited by The Times of Israel news portal.

He listed India, Greece, Greek Cypriot Administration, and unnamed Arab, African and Asian countries as among members of the proposed alliances.

The aim is “to create an axis of countries that see reality, the challenges, and the goals in the same way, in contrast to the radical axes,” he added. “Both the radical Shiite axis, which we have hit very hard, and also the emerging axis — the radical Sunni axis.”

Netanyahu said the Indian premier’s visit to Israel aims to deepen bilateral relations and expand cooperation in economic, political and security fields.

Israel and India intend to strengthen cooperation in high-tech industries, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, he added.

There was no Indian confirmation yet of Modi’s visit to Israel.

Modi visited Israel once as prime minister in 2017, while Netanyahu traveled to New Delhi the following year.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.