Israel's friendship day message to India -- 'yeh dosti hum nahi todenge'; PM says bond is eternal

Israel greeted India on friendship day with a Twitter message that featured the song 'yeh dosti' from Bollywood blockbuster Sholay, drawing an equally warm response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who asserted that the bond between the two countries is "strong and eternal".

"Happy #FriendshipDay2019 India! May our ever strengthening friendship & growing partnership touch greater heights," the Israeli embassy said in a tweet on Sunday.

The message had the Hindi lyrics "yeh dosti hum nahi todenge" (We will not break this friendship) of the song from the 1975 movie "Sholay", starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Hema Malini, and emoticons conveying that Israel loves India.

It had a short montage on various meetings between Modi and his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, with the music from the song playing in the background.

Modi responded with a tweet in Hebrew saying India and Israel have proved their friendship over time.

"Thank you and wishing a Happy Friendship Day to Israel's wonderful citizens and my good friend Netanyahu.

"India and Israel are time tested friends. Our bond is strong and eternal! May the friendship between our nations grow and prosper even more in the times to come!" he said.

Both Modi and Netanyahu are known to share a great chemistry which is visible in bilateral meetings.

Netanyahu, who failed to form a coalition after the April polls, plans to visit India ahead of the repeat elections in September.

Modi visited Israel in July 2017, the first by an Indian prime minister in 70 years.

During the historic visit, the warmth between Modi and Netanyahu, also known as Bibi, was apparent.