Celebrating 30 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the importance of ties between the two countries has increased in recent years and it is time to achieve "new milestones in mutual cooperation in the coming decades."
"Today, when the world is witnessing important changes, the importance of India-Israel relations has increased even more. This is the time for new milestones when India is celebrating the 75th anniversary of Independence this year, Israel will celebrate its 75th independence anniversary next year and both countries are celebrating the 30th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations today," said PM Modi in a special video message.
Speaking on the occasion of 30 years of establishment of full-fledged diplomatic relations with Israel, PM Modi greeted both Indians and Israelis in their native languages - Namaskar and Shalom.
"Today is a significant day for the relations between India and Israel. 30 years ago on this day, we established diplomatic relations between Israel and India. A new chapter opened up between the two countries. Though the chapter was new, the historic relations between the two countries are very old. We have had deep people-to-people contact for many years," said the Prime Minister said.
"The history of the relationship between our countries is very old. There has been a strong relationship between the people of India and Israel for centuries," he added.
He also said that the Jews have been living in India for generations. "For hundreds of years, Jews have been living in India without any discrimination, and they have evolved in a friendly environment. They played a significant role in the development of India," said PM Modi.
"I extend my wishes to you all. I'm fully confident that the India-Israel friendship will achieve new milestones in mutual cooperation in the coming decades. Dhanyavad, Toda Raba," said the Prime Minister.
India officially recognized Israel in 1950. However, the diplomatic ties between the countries were established only in 1992. As of 2020, India is one of the 164 countries to have diplomatic ties with Israel. India's embassy is located in Tel Aviv and Israel's embassy is located in Delhi.
Meanwhile, to mark the occasion of 30 years of diplomatic ties, the Gateway of India in Mumbai and the Teen Murti Haifa Chowk in Delhi were lit up in the colours of India and Israel's flag.
( With inputs from ANI )
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