Israeli envoy says PM Bennett's trip to India depends on 'political situation' in Israel

Following the last-minute cancelation of Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's trip to India last month, Israel's Ambassador to India Naor Gilon said on Saturday that Prime Minister's next visit to the nation would be determined by the political and security circumstances in his own country.

Ambassador Gilson told ANI, “It was canceled as he contracted COVID. We are working on it. Really depends also on the political and security situation in Israel, both less stable these days but I hope the situation will be stable and a visit will come soon.” 

The ambassador, however, refrained from commenting on the date of Israel Prime Minister Bennett's next visit to India. He went on to say, “I do not want to guess. I thought the visit is already... we were finalized, everything was ready, both from the Indian hosting side and our embassy side.”

He further added that everything was canceled just three days before the visit. So, he does not want to forecast and fail once again, ANI reported. 

It is worth noting that on March 28, Naftali Bennett was tested positive for COVID-19 disease. According to media reports, this visit is considered to be Bennett's first trip to India since taking office as Prime Minister.

Israeli Prime Minister intended to visit India at PM Modi's invitation

As per an official announcement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Bennett was scheduled to visit India from April 3 to 5, to mark the 30th anniversary of India-Israel diplomatic ties. The MEA further noted that the Israeli Prime Minister intended to visit New Delhi at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation. 

In addition to this, on Monday, April 25, Israel's ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, indicated that the future of the India-Israel partnership and ties is extremely bright, as the two countries celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations that began in 1992. According to media reports, the Israeli Embassy in India's culture department collaborated with Delhi Street Art to conceive and produce a wall art project to commemorate their diplomatic relations. 

Gilon added that the two nations are celebrating 30 years of full diplomatic ties and that he feels that relations have grown and deepened in recent years and that they have also been raised to the level of strategic collaboration, not just by name but also by action. 

Image: Twitter/@BJP4India/ ANI/ AP