Independence Day 2020: Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu extends wishes to PM Modi, Indians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended his good wishes on the eve of India's Independence Day in a tweet on Friday. India is all set to celebrate the 74th Independence day this year.

Tagging his counterpart Narendra Modi, he wished Indians a joyful I-Day and said they have "so much to be proud of". He also wrote a one-line greeting in Hindi. 

Earlier, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his country will join India in its forthcoming Independence Day celebrations and also congratulated Indians on the occasion. He said that the long-standing friendship between India and Australia is beyond trade and diplomacy and is based on trust and respect. 

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Meanwhile, as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel reached a historic deal to normalise relations a day before, India welcomed the move on Friday, stating that 'both nations are key strategic partners of India'. While India affirmed that it supported the Palestinian cause, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava stated that India wished to see an early resumption of direct negotiations to find an acceptable two-state solution. The UAE-Israel deal for normalisation of diplomatic relations between the nations was brokered by US President Donald Trump.

Notably, India and Israel came into existence as free, sovereign, and democratic nations around about the same time. Following India's Independence from British colonial rule in August 1947, the State of Israel was proclaimed in May 1948. Although formal diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Tel Aviv were only established in 1992, and since then the bilateral relationship between the two countries has blossomed to touch every economic, political, defense, and cultural field.

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