India’s PM Modi to visit Israel in first

An editor for the Times of India writes on Twitter that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Israel, the first-ever trip by a sitting Indian head of state to the country.

Foreign minister @SushmaSwaraj confirms PM @narendramodi will visit Israel. First ever visit by an Indian PM to Israel @timesofindia

— Sachin Parashar (@sachinpTOI) May 31, 2015

The visit comes as Israel has sought to foster closer ties with Delhi after the election last year of Modi, who is seen as a supporter of the Jewish state.

Modi visited Israel over a decade ago as chief minister of Gujarat state.

During that trip, he suggested that “as the possible next prime minister, he could make history by journeying to the Jewish state,” according to a concurrent report.

Netanyahu met with Modi in New York at the UN General Assembly in September and invited him to visit.

New Delhi only established relations with Israel in 1992, a delay often attributed by analysts to potential concerns within India’s Muslim minority and the developing nation’s need to preserve relations with wealthy Arab states.

But India quickly developed relations with Israel during the last government of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which emphasizes Hindu identity. In 2003, Ariel Sharon paid the first visit by an Israeli prime minister to New Delhi.

In February, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon visited India to boost security ties.

And in November, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Israel, the highest-level official trip ever for Delhi.