Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) and his wife Sara Netanyahu stand next to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2L) during an official ceremony at the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. AFP
It is Modi's second visit to Israel as prime minister.
He is scheduled to meet his counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, and President Isaac Herzog.
"Our nations share a robust and multifaceted strategic partnership," Modi said in a statement before leaving New Delhi, adding that he will address the Knesset, Israel's parliament, later on Thursday.
"Ties have significantly strengthened in the last few years."
New Delhi has steadily expanded cooperation with Israel across the defence, agriculture, technology and cybersecurity sectors, while balancing diplomatic interests in the Middle East.
Talks opened in New Delhi on Monday for an India-Israel Free Trade Agreement (FTA), India's government said in a statement, noting that merchandise trade reached $3.62 billion in 2024-2025.
Modi said he would hold talks with Netanyahu to "discuss ways to strengthen cooperation".
Full diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992. Ties deepened after Hindu-nationalist leader Modi took office in 2014.
Modi first visited Israel as prime minister in 2017, before Netanyahu made a reciprocal visit to India the following year.
Both right-wing leaders have called each other a "friend".
In September 2023, grand plans were unveiled in New Delhi for an India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor -- to link railways, ports, electricity, data networks and pipelines, including through Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Those plans were stalled in October 2023 following the outbreak of Israel’s deadliest-ever war on Gaza, which has killed at least 72,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the population, and reduced much of the Strip to rubble.
Ashok Malik, head of the New Delhi-based strategic advisory firm The Asia Group, explained that India-Israel ties stem not only from strategic alignment on issues such as terrorism, but also because "Israel has a lot to contribute in terms of innovation technology, including agriculture, technology, and economic partnerships and of course defence."
He added that the ties between the two countries, which Modi was "taking forward with this visit," were "quite independent of the Palestinian issue."
Months after his 2017 visit to Israel, Modi travelled to Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian Authority.
His current visit, however, has sparked criticism at home.
Senior Congress party figure Priyanka Gandhi -- sister of opposition leader Rahul -- posted on social media on Wednesday that she hoped Modi would mention the killing of "thousands of innocent men, women and children in Gaza" when he addresses Israel's parliament.
India, the world's most populous nation with 1.4 billion people, is majority Hindu, but an estimated 220 million Indians are Muslim.
One of India's largest conglomerates, Adani Group, operates the Israeli port of Haifa, while Israeli military drone technology played a pivotal role during India's May 2025 clash with Pakistan.
At the same time, India maintains strong relations with Gulf nations and Tehran, including developing Iran's Chabahar port -- a trade gateway to Afghanistan, where New Delhi has built a relationship with Taliban authorities.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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