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India and Israel have signed a defense cooperation agreement that aims to deepen ties between the two nations, New Delhi’s Defense Ministry has announced. The agreement was signed in Tel Aviv on Tuesday during a joint working group on defense cooperation, co-chaired by Indian Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and the director general of the Israeli Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. (Res) Amir Baram, the statement said. The ministry noted that the agreement would enable the “sharing of advanced technology and would promote co-development and co-production.” While the statement did not provide details of any deals, the Jerusalem Post reported that India would acquire rockets for its ground forces and medium-range surface-to-air missile defense systems developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for around $3.75 billion. IAI would also convert six commercial planes into Indian Air Force refueling aircraft for $900 million, the report noted. The signing of the agreement coincided with the visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to New Delhi on Tuesday. During his meeting with his Indian counterpart, S. Jaishankar, Sa’ar hailed India as a “global superpower.” He also said the partnership between India and Israel has reached an all-time high, driven by increasing alignment in strategic and technological cooperation. “India and Israel have a strategic partnership and particularly in our case, that term has a real meaning. We have stood together in testing times. And we have created a relationship with a high degree of trust and reliability,” Jaishankar said. India counts Israel as one of its top arms suppliers over the last several decades, and the two countries have also co-developed the Barak-8 air and missile defense system. According to 2025 SIPRI data, India was the largest importer of Israeli arms, accounting for 34% or $2.9 billion worth of military equipment, including radars, drones, and missiles. However, when considering India’s overall arms imports, Russia was the largest supplier, making up 36% of the total. Jaishankar expressed India’s backing for a peace plan aimed at ending the Gaza conflict, which was proposed by US President Donald Trump last month in Egypt’s Sharm-el-Sheikh. The Indian official conveyed hope that it would lead to a lasting solution.
