Pranab Mukherjee congratulates new Israel President

President Pranab Mukherjee congratulated H.E. Reuven Rivlin on his election as the President of Israel here today.

In a message to Rivlin, Mukherjee said, "On behalf of the Government and the people of India, I extend my heartiest felicitations to you on your victory in the elections to the high office of the President of the State of Israel.

"As you may be aware, in recent years the relationship between India and Israel has deepened in diverse areas of mutual interest. We attach priority to our relations with Israel and seek a further strengthening of our mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as trade and economy, security, culture and people-to-people exchanges," he said.

"Complementary to this, India and Israel are two of the leading knowledge economies of the world and we look forward to working towards building a strong hi-tech partnership based on science, research and innovation. I take this opportunity to convey to you our best wishes for the progress and prosperity of the people of Israel," he added.