India and Israel Look to Expand Cooperation

Posted: April 20th, 2017

By P.R. Kumaraswamy

P.R. Kumaraswamy is a Professor at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. He was a Research Fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1991-1999). Ever since joining JNU in September 1999, he has been researching, teaching and writing on various aspects of contemporary Middle East.

A quarter of a century after the normalization of relations between India and Israel, the strength of Indo-Israeli ties can be measured by the continuing attention and coverage the subject receives in the media and in academic circles. While the scope of bilateral trade is not significant (hovering around $6 billion annually), there is immense potential for a strategic military partnership between the two nations.

India officially recognized the Jewish state on September 17, 1950 – incidentally, the day current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was born – but diplomatic relations between the two countries stalled until January 1992. India’s traditional support for many Arab states and its significant domestic Muslim population are often cited as the main reasons for this delay, even though a small Jewish community has lived in India for more than two millennia without any trace of anti-Semitism.

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