India and Israel on Monday held a "fruitful discussion" to deepen their defence and industrial ties, reviewing the ongoing cooperation, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz said.
Gantz took to Twitter to announce that he met India's Ambassador to Israel Sanjeev Singla and held bilateral talks, two weeks after he held an "excellent call" with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh, the first since the new government was formed in Israel under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
"This morning I met with Indian Ambassador to Israel, His Excellency Singla for a fruitful discussion about deepening Israel-India defence and industrial ties," the Israeli defence minister said in a tweet.
"This meeting comes on the heels of an excellent call that I had with my Indian counterpart (Rajnath Singh) just two weeks ago," Gantz said.
A senior adviser to the Israeli defence minister told PTI that the two ministers have spoken to each other on defence collaborations also in the past but it was the first since the new government was formed in Israel in June.
Bennett was sworn in as Israel's new prime minister on June 13, ending Netanyahu's 12-year hold on power and the political uncertainty that gripped the Jewish nation for months after inconclusive elections.
"We reviewed global and regional challenges, as well as the numerous tactical threats that Israel faces on all fronts.
"We also discussed various areas of collaboration in defence R&D (research and development), mil-to-mil (military to military) cooperation, & exchanges in information and expertise," Gantz said on Twitter.
The Indian envoy has held discussions with senior leaders in the new Israeli government recently, discussing ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields.
Air Force chief RKS Bhadauria was on a three-day visit to Israel last week to discuss the enhancement of bilateral exchanges between the two strategic partners.
