Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Credit: Reuters Photo
Jerusalem: The foundation of India-US relationship is "very solid' and both sides should find common ground to resolve the tariff issue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
The prime minister also said that the military equipment supplied to India by Israel performed well during Operation Sindoor and that the defence cooperation between the two countries are on an upswing.
In an interaction with a group of visiting Indian journalists, Netanyahu said he would like to visit India "soon".
As India-US ties are reeling under some strain after US President Donald Trump imposed 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, the Israeli prime minister said both sides should amicably resolve the issue.
To a question on whether he would give any advice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on dealing with Trump, the Israeli leader half-jockingly said he would do so privately.
"Modi and Trump are terrific friends of mine. Yes I would give Modi some advice (on dealing with Trump), but privately." "There is a basic understanding in relationship between India and the US. The basis of the relationship is very solid. It will be in the interest of India and the US to arrive at a common ground and resolve the tariff issue," he said.
"Such a resolution will be good for Israel as well as both the countries are our friends," he added.
The Israeli prime minister also noted that there is huge scope for further expand India-Israel cooperation including in areas such as intelligence sharing, countering terrorism and high-technology.
"I would like to come to India. I miss India," he said.
"We have developed a lot of technology in screening data and social networks. We are cooperating in this domain with India as well." Without providing specific details, Netanyahu said Israel would like to quickly wrap up "mutual defence and economic agreements".
Asked whether Israel helped India during Operation Sindoor, Netanyahu said the equipment provided by his country much before the conflict to Indian military performed well.
"Israel supplied military equipment to India before (Op Sindoor). All of them worked well. Israeli equipment used during Operation Sindoor were battle proven.
"We don’t develop them in labs, but in battlefield. So they are battle-tested. We have a robust defence cooperation. It is on a pretty solid foundation," Netanyahu said.
The Israeli prime minister said both India and Israel are well-placed to combat cross-border terrorism. He suggested that Israel can help India in boosting its surveillance mechanism.
"India is huge country and it is not easy to have surveillance all over. We are ready to help India in air surveillance systems. Besides intelligence, we need the physical capability to get the terrorists before they strike.
"You always have to be ahead of the curve, you don’t allow them to break you, you have to act before what is likely to come and being hatched by them," he added.
Netanyahu said Israel is keen to have flight connectivity between Bengaluru and Tel Aviv.
"We would like to have direct flights between Tel Aviv and Bangalore, so that we can reach in six hours, that will be shorter than the flight to San Francisco," he said.