Gandhinagar: Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is on his first-ever visit to India, paid a courtesy call on Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in the state capital along with his delegation.

During the meeting, Smotrich highlighted the deep cultural, traditional, and technological similarities between Israel, India, and Gujarat, and stressed the need to further strengthen future cooperation. He said his visit to Gujarat was inspired by the desire to see the birthplace of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as to explore opportunities for fostering business-to-business relations and possibilities for Israeli financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City.

The Israeli Finance Minister noted that the warm personal relations between Prime Minister Modi and the Prime Minister of Israel had brought the two nations closer. He also lauded India’s continued support to Israel, stressing joint commitment to fighting terrorism. Smotrich further expressed interest in learning about India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and financial protocols.

Chief Minister Patel said India-Israel ties have grown significantly under Prime Minister Modi’s visionary leadership. He reaffirmed that India remains committed to extending unwavering support to Israel in the fight against terrorism, citing Modi’s policy of “zero tolerance” against terror. Highlighting Gujarat’s future vision, Patel said Israel’s expertise in drip irrigation and other developmental experiments holds potential for collaborative projects in the state.

On investment opportunities, Patel welcomed Smotrich’s keen interest in GIFT City and suggested that a joint team of officials from Gujarat and Israel could work together to advance discussions. He also offered condolences for the recent loss of lives in tragic incidents in Israel and praised the nation’s resilience in facing challenges.

The meeting was attended by Chief Minister’s Additional Chief Secretary M. K. Das, Finance Department Additional Chief Secretary T. Natarajan, Additional Principal Secretary Avanthika Singh, Finance Secretary Arti Kanwar, and CM’s Secretary Dr. Vikrant Pandey.