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India and Israel declared themselves a “special strategic partnership” on Thursday after signing 16 new agreements, the two countries announced in a joint statement on Thursday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel this week. Representatives of the two countries held working meetings this week to discuss agreements spanning security, agriculture, water, development and labor.
“This is an amazing visit. An amazing conclusion to an amazing visit,” Netanyahu said alongside Modi. “It was short, but extraordinarily productive and also extraordinarily moving.”
“The future belongs to those who innovate, and Israel and India are bent on innovation. We are proud ancient civilizations, very proud of our past, but also absolutely determined to seize our future and we can do it better together.” he added.
The two countries ultimately signed 16 agreements spanning a range of topics, including articifial intelligence, cultural exchange, agriculture, and energy, with Netanyahu adding that they are still working on a more “concrete” agreement.
“This friendship is built on a deep foundation of democratic and human values,” Modi said, as translated by Israel’s Ynet News. “Our ties have stood the test of time. Today we made a historic decision to elevate our longstanding partnership to a special strategic partnership, symbolizing the aspirations of our two peoples.”
The elevated relationship comes as the U.S. and Israel have ramped up tensions with Iran. The U.S. has undergone a massive military buildup in the region, and Netanyahu discussed Iran with President Donald Trump during a White House visit earlier this month.
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Trump said Wednesday that he wants to resolve tensions with Iran through diplomacy, but he also accused Tehran of expanding its missile capabilities.
“They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas,” he said. “And they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”
“My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy,” Trump added. “They want to make a deal. But we haven’t heard those secret words: we will never have a nuclear weapon.”
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“But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror … to have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let that happen.”
Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.
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