New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a light-hearted conversation with Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. In a video of the animated interaction shared on social media, the Israeli PM can be heard saying to PM Modi, "You are the most popular man in Israel. Come and join my party."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi burst into laughter upon hearing the compliment. The two Prime Ministers shared the light-hearted conversation in between their tight schedules at the COP26 climate summit.
Watch the video shared by the Israel PM Bennett:
Bennet can also be heard thanking PM Modi at the start of their conversation in the video, " You're the person who restarted the relationship between India and Israel, which is a deep relationship between two unique civilizations - the Indian civilization, the Jewish civilization - and I know it comes from your heart,"
This was PM Modi's first in-person interaction with the Israeli PM during which they reviewed the bilateral ties besides exchanging views about expanding cooperation in areas of high-technology and innovation.
Earlier, recalling their brief meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Modi said that the people of India deeply value the friendship with Israel.
"Enhancing friendship with Israel. Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @naftalibennett had a fruitful meeting in Glasgow. Both leaders discussed deepening various avenues of cooperation for the benefit of our citizens, the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.
The meeting between Modi and Bennett comes after Jaishankar, during his visit to Israel last month, extended an invitation to the Israeli premier on behalf of Modi to visit India.
According to Israeli media reports, Bennett, who became prime minister in June this year, is likely to visit India next year.
India and Israel elevated their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership during the historic visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel in July 2017.
Since then, the relationship between the two countries has focused on expanding knowledge-based partnership, which includes collaboration in innovation and research, including boosting the 'Make in India' initiative.