Israeli speaker visits India, signs MoU on India-Israel info exchange

New Delhi: ​Speaker of the Israeli Knesset MK Amir Ohana, who is on an official visit to India, has hailed India-Israel diplomatic ties and spoken about the importance of strengthening collaborations between the countries’ parliaments, benefiting citizens of both nations.

This is the first-ever official visit to the country by a sitting Knesset Speaker.

The parliamentary delegation headed by Speaker MK Ohana also includes MK Michael Biton (National Union Party) ​and MK Amit Halevi (Likud), chair of the Israel-India Parliamentary Friendship Group.

They began their visit by paying floral tributes at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, at Rajghat, Delhi. Speaker MK Ohana visited the Parliament to meet the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. They signed an MoU on the first cooperation and exchange of​ information agreement between the parliaments of Israel and India.

Ahead of the visit, Speaker MK Ohana said: “I chose India as the destination for my first official visit as Speaker of the Knesset because I see the impressive development of this superpower in every aspect, and also because no sitting Knesset Speaker has ever visited India. This is an important milestone in the diplomatic relations between Israel and India, which were established some 31 years ago.’

During the visit, Knesset Speaker MK Ohana and MKs Biton and Halevi also met the President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu and the Vice President of India Mr. Jagdeep Dhankhar. He is also expected to meet Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar.

The members of the Knesset delegation will also visit the National Stock Exchange of India and meet with its chairman, Girish Chandra Chaturvedi.