Jaishankar meets Israeli Parliament's Speaker; discusses common challenges, regional developments

Jerusalem, Oct 19: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met with Israeli Parliament Speaker Mickey Levy and the two leaders discussed at length the common challenges faced by the two countries like radicalisation, and took stock of the developments in the region.

"Called on Speaker of Knesset of Israel, @MKMickeyLevy this morning. Had a wide ranging discussion with him and Chairman of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee @Ram_Ben_Barak. Appreciated the broad support for the India relationship in the Knesset," Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Jaishankar and Levy discussed at length the common challenges faced by the two countries and took stock of developments in the region. The two sides vowed to fight radicalisation together and agreed to enhance cooperation between their parliamentary friendship groups, sources here said.

“It was my great honour to host India's External Affairs Minister Dr. Jaishankar, in what marks another significant milestone in the great relationship between Israel and India," Levy said.

"The strong and unique bond between our two great ancient nations and vibrant democracies blossomed in recent years. As Speaker of the Knesset, I look forward to working with my colleague the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Mr. Om Birla,” he added. The Knesset's speaker also conveyed to Jaishankar that "Israel welcomes in open arms peace with more Arab and Muslim nations".

In August 2020, Israel, the UAE and the US signed Abraham Accords. The accord helped Israel and the UAE normalise their ties. India had welcomed the agreement, saying it “has always supported peace and stability in West Asia which is our extended neighbourhood."