India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day visit that both countries have cast as a chance to deepen relations, as regional concerns mount over the risk of military conflict between the United States and Iran.
Modi, a Hindu nationalist, became the first prime minister in India’s history to visit Israel in 2017, during which he and right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a barefoot stroll on a beach in the northern port city of Haifa. Both still in power nearly nine years later, the two leaders, who describe one another as friends, are expected to hold talks on artificial intelligence as well as defence at a time when Israel is seeking to increase its military exports.