Beyond Modi-Netanyahu bonhomie: India, Israel struggle to add heft to ties

Deals signed included subject areas like homeopathic research, film production and cyber security. Defence cooperation remained under wraps

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu praised one another for “revolutionising” the bilateral relationship, the nine agreements signed – on subjects ranging from cyber security to homeopathic research – suggest the two countries are finding it hard to match the heady rhetoric with concrete outcomes in areas that matter.

A joint statement issued at the end of the main substantive day of Netanyahu’s visit included boiler-plate language on the “grave threat” of terrorism and avoided an explicit reference to the “two-state solution” to the Israel-Palestine dispute in deference to Tel Aviv’s growing inclination for