India & Israel make call for fight against terrorism

Jerusalem: India and Israel on Tuesday jointly called for resolutely opposing the menace of terrorism and the defeat of this global scourge.

Jointly addressing the media here along with Israeli counterpart Benjam Netanyahu ahead of a one-on-one dinner between them, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum shortly after his arrival here earlier in the day and said the museum was "a tribute to your unbreakable spirit to rise above the depths of tragedy, overcome hatred and forge ahead to build a vibrant democratic nation".

"Yad Vashem tells us that those who believe in humanity and civilised values must come together and defend it at all costs, Modi said.

"As such, we must resolutely oppose the evils of terrorism, radicalism and violence that plague our time."

Modi arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday afternoon in what is the first ever prime ministerial visit from India to Israel. This year marks the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Stating that India-Israel ties have seen rapid growth since the establishment of full diplomatic relations, Modi said: "Common objectives of economic prosperity, strong technology and innovation ties and the need to secure our societies define the space for convergent action between us. Over coming decades, we want to frame a relationship that transforms the landscape of our economic engagement."

"We are proud of jewish sons and daughters of India like Lt. Gen. J.F.R. Jacob, Vice Admiral Benjamin Samson, master architect Joshua Benjamin, and film actors Nadira, Sulochana, and Pramila whose diverse contributions have greatly enriched the fabric of Indian society," he said.

"Indian Jews are a living and vibrant connect to this shared history. My visit to Israel celebrates this ancient bond between communities across both our nations."

India and Israel are sister democracies, face common challenge: Israel On his part, Netanyahu said that India and Israel were "sister democracies" and faced the common challenge of terrorism.

Calling Modi as "friend Narendra", Netanyahu said that Israel believed in the "partnership of intelligence".

"We also face common challenges and first of it is to defeat the forces of terror that's on rampage through the world and threaten both our countries. We must stand together in this battle. We have to defeat terrorism."

"We have great admiration for people of India. My late uncle who was a mathematician told me many times about his admiration for great Indian mathematician Ramanujan, who was perhaps the greatest mathematician in many centuries," said Netanyahu.

He further added, "We believe in the partnership of talent. It won't happen over night, but we both want it to happen overnight."