India’s Modi Due in Israel for Strategic Alignment Without Illusions

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Israel next week, highlighting what has become one of Israel’s most consequential external alignments. Mr. Modi’s last visit, in 2017, was the first by an Indian prime minister and marked a turning point in ties. Since then, engagement has accelerated across defense, technology, agriculture, and trade, transforming a once-quiet relationship into an openly declared partnership.The long delay before diplomatic engagement makes the current alignment more striking. India and Israel emerged as modern states in the aftermath of 1948, each shaped by partition and conflict. India formally recognized Israel in 1950, yet Cold War realities, including non-alignment and regional sensitivities, constrained overt engagement for decades.Only after the Cold War reshaped global alignments did formal diplomatic relations begin in 1992. What has emerged is not a traditional alliance but a partnership built on shared strategic constraints rather than ideological convergence. Instead of replacing alliances, such partnerships increasingly sit alongside them, allowing states to cooperate selectively without surrendering independence.Israel and India are not obvious partners. One is a small Middle Eastern state defined by acute security pressure; the other a vast South Asian power balancing global ambition with strategic autonomy. Geography, scale, and political traditions diverge sharply. Yet the partnership deepened because both approach international politics through a similar lens: consequence over consensus.Both operate in regions where security cannot be delegated and international consensus cannot always be assumed. Both countries combine ancient civilizational identity with modern democratic statehood, making sovereignty not an abstraction but a condition continually tested by instability and opportunistic adversaries.Defense cooperation forms the backbone of the relationship, emphasizing operational coordination, technological collaboration, and co-development rather than simple arms sales, exemplified by the jointly developed Barak-8 air-defense system. The partnership now extends into artificial intelligence, cyber security, water management, agriculture, and innovation ecosystems, reflecting a shift from transactional exchange toward longer-term integration.Economic ties disclose the trajectory. Since 1992, bilateral trade has grown steadily, reaching roughly $3.75 billion last year, despite regional disruptions. India is now Israel’s second-largest Asian trading partner, with exchange expanding into high technology, communications, medical equipment, and joint research initiatives. Israeli investment and technology partnerships in India’s infrastructure and innovation sectors continue to expand, alongside growing Indian investment in Israel, including the Adani-led acquisition of Haifa Port.What distinguishes the relationship is not volume but momentum. Ministerial engagement now spans defense, technology, agriculture, and finance, reflecting sustained institutionalization rather than episodic diplomacy. Investment and free-trade negotiations advance alongside structured dialogues on cyber policy, export controls, and innovation funding.Leadership accelerated the shift. Mr. Modi and Prime Minister Netanyahu transformed previously sporadic cooperation into an openly declared partnership. Their shared strategic ambition, reinforced by unusually long tenures, has allowed alignment to translate into durable action. Mr. Modi is expected to address the Knesset during his visit, underscoring the standing he now holds in Israel.Yet the relationship does not depend on personalities alone. Both countries practice forms of strategic autonomy that prioritize national interest over bloc politics. India maintains relations across competing global powers while expanding security coordination with Israel. Israel, accustomed to operating without guaranteed international consensus, places practical capability above diplomatic choreography. Cooperation rests less on ideology than on converging risk assessments.From an Israeli perspective, India’s voting pattern at the United Nations is not ideal but neither is it disqualifying. Cooperation advances where interests converge, even as New Delhi preserves diplomatic maneuverability in multilateral forums.Mr. Modi’s visit comes as both countries confront shifting regional environments and intensifying technological competition. For Israel, partnerships with large autonomous powers extend its reach beyond its immediate region. For India, collaboration with a technologically advanced security partner accelerates modernization without constraining independence.Partnerships built on practical cooperation rather than formal alliance structures are no longer exceptions at the margins; they are increasingly shaping how states align. The India-Israel relationship offers an early example of this model in practice.Israel and India align not because they resemble one another, but because both operate in environments where strategic error carries high costs. In a more fragmented international system, partnerships grounded in shared constraints rather than shared identity are becoming an increasingly important complement to traditional alliances.

India’s Modi Due in Israel for Strategic Alignment Without Illusions

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