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India-Israel Defense Ties Deepen With Key Seminar Ahead of Modi Visit

Israel's Ministry of Defense hosted a strategic seminar with Indian defense companies, culminating in a signed Memorandum of Understanding between SIBAT and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers. The event brought together dozens of companies from both nations to engage with India's updated defense procurement policy. This cooperation advances the strategic vision to broaden Israel's defense exports and deepen partnerships with key countries. The seminar occurs ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Israel next week, which Israeli PM Netanyahu announced, highlighting the strong alliance.

Key Points: India-Israel Defense Seminar Precedes PM Modi's Visit

  • Strategic defense seminar held in Tel Aviv
  • SIBAT and SIDM sign formal MoU
  • Aims to deepen industrial ecosystem familiarity
  • Occurs ahead of PM Modi's upcoming visit
  • Follows 2025 Joint Working Group meeting
2 min read

Israel's def ministry holds seminar with India ahead of PM Modi's visit

Ahead of PM Modi's Israel visit, defense ministries hold strategic seminar, sign MoU to boost industry cooperation and bilateral ties.

"tremendous alliance - Benjamin Netanyahu"

Tel Aviv, February 19

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel, Israel's Ministry of Defense led Strategic Defense Industry Seminar with India on Wednesday.

The International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) within the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) led a seminar and B2B meetings this week between leading Indian and Israeli defense companies, held in cooperation with the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and the Indian Ministry of Defence. During the seminar, SIBAT and SIDM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize and strengthen ongoing joint activities, including future seminars and cooperative initiatives, a statement by the Israel Defence ministry said.

The seminar was led by SIBAT Director, Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yair Kulas, and brought together small, medium, and large Israeli and Indian defense companies for substantive engagements, with the goal of deepening familiarity with India's defense industrial ecosystem and its updated Defense Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2026 - India's national defense procurement policy. The event featured representatives from 30 Indian and 26 Israeli defense companies.

The Indian delegation was led by Ramesh K, Director General of SIDM, and included JP Singh, Ambassador of India to Israel, and Gp. Capt. Vijay Patil, Defence Attache of India to Israel. Both sides expressed their commitment to advancing the bilateral dialogue and emphasized the importance of continued cooperation between two defense industries that have stood shoulder to shoulder in times of crisis.

The seminar advances the strategic vision of Israel Ministry of Defense Director General Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram to broaden Israel's defense exports and deepen strategic partnerships with key countries around the world. The event follows the Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting held in November 2025 and takes place ahead of Prime Minister Modi's expected visit to Israel next week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Israel "next week," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Addressing the conference of presidents of major American Jewish organisations, Netanyahu announced PM Modi's upcoming visit, noting a "tremendous alliance" between the two nations.

This will be PM Modi's second visit to the country, following his 2017 visit when he became the first-ever Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Good to see this partnership growing. But I hope the focus remains on true technology transfer and joint development, not just buying expensive equipment. We need to build our own R&D capabilities for long-term security.
R
Rohit P
PM Modi's visit will be historic again! The relationship has come a long way. From agriculture (drip irrigation) to defense, Israel has been a reliable partner. This is about national security and job creation in our defense manufacturing.
S
Sarah B
Interesting development. As an observer, it seems like a pragmatic alliance between two tech-savvy democracies facing complex security challenges. The B2B focus with SMEs involved is a smart, ground-up approach.
V
Vikram M
Hope our private companies like L&T, Tata Advanced Systems get a major boost from this. We need to reduce dependency on any single country for defense imports. Diversifying with Israel is a good step. 👍
K
Kavya N
While defense is important, I also hope the talks address shared concerns on water conservation and cyber security. The partnership has more dimensions than just weapons. All the best for the PM's visit!

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