Benjamin Netanyahu in Gujarat highlights: India has a leader and a vision, says Israeli PM

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Updated: Jan 17, 2018 23:16 IST

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his host, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday began their Gujarat visit with a roadshow and a trip to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.

The two prime ministers also jointly inaugurated the International Center For Entrepreneurship & Technology – iCreate, and are scheduled to visit a centre for agriculture in Sabarkantha. Netanyahu visited the Taj Mahal in Agra on Tuesday.

Here are the live updates:

5:45pm: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to reach Mumbai from Ahmedabad around 6.15pm on a two-day visit.

5:34pm: “Our relation with Israel through Centre of Excellence has to be taken forward to bring about change. I thank PM Netanyahu for taking time for our farmers and talking to them,” says Modi.

5:30pm: We are working towards doubling farmer incomes by 2022. For this, optimum utilisation of land resources, ensuring minimum wastage & understanding the needs of the market assume importance: PM Modi.

5:29pm: “We are all aware of the strides Israel has made in agriculture, including when it comes to managing water resources and irrigation. Israel shows the way on how to transform a nation with the agriculture sector at the core,” says Modi.

5:25pm: “With the help of technology and advanced Science, Israel has brought revolution in the sector of agriculture,” says PM Narendra Modi in Vadrad.

5:20pm: “I know something about Mashav. We operate in many countries but the biggest project that Mashav has is here in India because India has a leader, has a vision,” says Benjamin Netanyahu in Vadrad. Mashav is Israel’s agency for international development cooperation in the ministry of foreign affairs.

3.13pm: In his message, President Ram Nath Kovind said, “India-Israel relations are weaved with threads of culture, civilisational values and mutual trust. More than 2,000 years ago, the Jews arrived in India. They found love, equality and a family-like reception. This was an expression of the core beliefs of India’s ancient culture and its people.”

3.12pm: In his message to the magazine, PM Modi said, “The deep friendship of the Indian people with Israel is something worth celebrating. The bond between the two nations goes back centuries in time and will continue to grow stronger.”

3.11pm: “The magazine is planned to carry forward the great initiative of Modi and Netanyahu to strengthen India-Israel relations and provide a platform for exchanging views between Indians and Jews the world over,” says Ralphy Jhirad, who is also the president and managing trustee of Bene Israel Heritage Museum and Genealogical Centre.

3.11pm: The magazine will be launched at the Magen David Synagogue at Byculla in south Mumbai on Thursday, an editorial board member of the magazine, Ralphy Jhirad, tells PTI.

3.10pm: The Jewish community will mark Netanyahu’s Mumbai visit with the launch of ‘Namaste Shalom’, a regular monthly magazine on bilateral relations between the two nations, reports PTI.

3.01pm: iCreate ka ‘i’ small letter mein hai. I ko chota kyo rakha iske piche bhi ek wajah hai. Creativity ki sabse badi rukavat hoti hai ‘I’ ka bada hona. (The letter ‘i’ is is in lower case because the word ‘I’ is the biggest hurdle for creativity): PM Modi at iCreate Centre.

2.52pm: Four days ago, ISRO made a century in satellite launching. Such success needs dedication, hard work and dreams. Such energy is filled in our scientists and youth: PM Modi.

2.50pm: We are working towards making entire system in our country innovation-friendly, so that ideas are formed from intent, innovations are formed from ideas and new India is formed from innovations: PM Modi at iCreate Centre.

2.46pm: The technology and creativity of Israel influence the world. Israel has proved it to the world that commitment of the people, not size of the nation takes the country forward: PM Modi at iCreate Centre in Ahmedabad.

2.43pm: When I launched iCreate a few years ago, I said I want to link it with Israel. My motive was that this institution and our youth is benefited by Israel’s experience and their start-up environment: PM Modi.

2.40pm: When a farmer sows a small plant, coming generations receive fruits of that huge tree. The farmer’s soul feels elated with this. We are feeling the same happiness on the inauguration of iCreate: PM Modi

2.35pm: When I went to Israel last year, I made up my mind that this foundation should have more strong relations with Israel. From that time, I was waiting for my friend Benjamin Netanyahu to come to India. He is here and now we are inaugurating this foundation, says PM Narendra Modi at iCreate Centre.

2.25pm: Jai Hind! Jai Bharat! Jai Israel! Thank you Prime Minister Modi, thank you all!: Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu concludes his address at the iCreate centre

2.23pm: Many Indian soldiers who lost their lives during the liberation of Haifa were Gujaratis. Thank you Gujarat, says Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

2.21pm: PM Modi and I are both very young and both very optimistic, we are young in our thinking & optimistic about the future, says Netanyahu.

2.20pm: I am delighted to be here. The world knows about iPads and iPods, there is one more i that the world needs to know about, that is iCreate: Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

2.10pm: PM Modi and Netanyahu interact with people at the iCreate centre in Ahmedabad.

2.05pm: Netanyahu tells Israeli reporters travelling with him that he is certain that the US Embassy will be moved to Jerusalem in the coming year, much sooner than Trump administration officials have estimated, Associated Press reports. He says his “solid assessment” is that the American Embassy “will be moved far faster than what we think ... in the course of the year.”

1.25pm: PM Modi and Netanyahu inaugurate the iCreate Center at Deo Dholera village in Ahmedabad.

12.51pm: Both India and Israel have a connection as they have occupied Muslim territories - India has occupied Kashmir, while Israel is occupying a vast area of Palestine, a Radio Pakistan report quotes Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Asif as telling a private channel.

12.49pm: Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Asif criticised Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to India, saying both India and Israel have an anti-Islam nexus, reports ANI.

12.48pm: Pakistan criticises Netanyahu’s visit to India, reports ANI

12.35pm: “Gujarat extends a warm welcome to Mrs. Netanyahu and PM @netanyahu… PM @netanyahu will experience Gujarat’s remarkable hospitality during our visit to the state today. We will attend various programmes and interact with a wide range of people, ranging from innovators, entrepreneurs and farmers,” tweets PM Modi.

12.30pm: Israel PM Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu leave a message at Sabarmati Ashram.

12.19pm: The two PMs will dedicate a mobile water desalination van to Suigam Taluka of Banaskantha district, through a video link.

12.18pm: Modi and Netanyahu will inaugurate the iCreate Centre at Deo Dholera village in Ahmedabad. They will also visit a Startup Exhibition and interact with innovators and Startup CEOs.

12.15pm: Modi and Netanyahu will visit the Centre of Excellence for Vegetables at Vadrad in Sabarkantha district, and inaugurate the Centre of Excellence for Date Palms at Kukama via a video link. The two leaders will also interact with farmers.

12.11pm: Netanyahu and his wife Sara, along with PM Modi, fly kites along the Sabarmati riverfront.

12.10pm: Modi and Netanyahu pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi.

12.01pm: Netanyahu and his wife Sara garland a photo at Sabarmati Ashram, and spin a charkha.

11.58am: Modi and Netanyahu reach Sabarmati Ashram.

11.50am: Traditional dancers present glimpses of various states of India all along the roadshow.

11.40am: Unlike the roadshow in 2017 in an open vehicle by PM Narendra Modi and Japan’s Shinzo Abe, the prime ministers this time opt for bullet-proof cars.

11.25am: Huge crowd gathers to welcome Modi and Netanyahu as the two prime ministers depart from the airport for their roadshow in Ahmedabad.

11.18am: PM Modi receives Netanyahu at Ahmedabad airport.

11.05am: Netanyahu arrives at Ahmedabad airport; to be received by PM Modi.

10.00am: PM Modi arrives in Ahmedabad to welcome Israeli PM

#Gujarat Preparations underway for inauguration of icreate center at Deo Dholera Village in Ahmedabad; PM Modi and Israel PM Netanyahu to attend pic.twitter.com/eZRqL71bka — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2018

9.26am: Netayanhu will leave for Mumbai in the afternoon.

9.25am: The two leaders would then proceed for a Sabarkantha-based centre of excellence for agriculture established by Israel. They will inaugurate a research facility for cultivation of dates in Kutch by remote control from Sabarkantha.

9.24am: From the Ashram, Modi and Netanyahu would go to ‘iCreate’, an autonomous centre of excellence near Bavla town close to the city, chief minister Vijay Rupani had said earlier.

9.23am: PM Modi and his Israeli counterpart are scheduled to visit the Sabarmati Ashram, where Mahatma Gandhi stayed for a long time.

(With agency inputs)