Israel Ambassador meets UP CM Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow; discusses bilateral cooperation

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met Israel's Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, on Monday, June 13. The courtesy meeting was held at the official residence of the UP Chief Minister in Lucknow. After the meeting, Gilon spoke to ANI and revealed that a large Israeli delegation had arrived at the CM's residence to discuss bilateral cooperation in existing fields and ways to expand it.

"We had a very good meeting with the Chief Minister. We discussed a lot about international cooperation. We came with a very big delegation which includes the Ambassador from Israel, who is in charge of all our cooperation," said Naor Gilon.

He added, "We discussed agriculture, water, and what we have today in cooperation which is two centers and the Bundelkhand water project. We discussed how we can increase cooperation in these fields and other fields like the security corridors and more." 

CM Yogi Adityanath also took to his Twitter to share a photograph from the meeting. "Courtesy meeting with Ambassador of Israel to India Mr @NaorGilon Ji at his official residence in Lucknow today," he tweeted. 

High-level meetings between India & Israel on 30th anniversary of ties

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Israel's Defence Minister Benjamin Gantz to discuss ways to improve bilateral cooperation and contribute to global stability. The Israeli delegation's visit coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of official diplomatic relations between India and Israel.

"We have a great opportunity to deepen defence cooperation between our countries and to build on our shared values in order to contribute to global stability," Israeli Defence Minister told PM Modi. 

He added, "India is an industrial superpower and Israel is a technological superpower – cooperation between our countries will expand the capabilities of both countries to contend with developing challenges."

Additionally, the Israeli Defence Minister held a meeting with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Both India and Israel discussed a wide variety of bilateral, regional and defence industrial cooperation issues. Singh and Gantz also evaluated the existing military-to-military activities, which have grown despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.