‘You have an amazingly efficient government’: Netanyahu praises PM Modi during Israel visit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for running an “amazingly efficient government”.

Modi arrived in Israel on Wednesday on a daylong visit. It was the first head of government-level visit between the two countries since 2018.

At a press briefing with Modi, Netanyahu said that the Prime Minister had managed to do for the India-Israel relationship with one minister and ambassador was worthy of thoughts.

Netanyahu said, “I have to comment to my friend Narendra. You have an amazingly efficient government. What you can do with one minister and one ambassador gives me thoughts. I don’t want you to worry about it. In fact, we know that the meeting of minds and hearts that we’ve had here will also continue in this remarkable G2G that is long overdue and will create an even greater boost to the enormous benefits that we can bring to each other, and I think to humanity at large."

VIDEO | Addressing a joint presser alongside PM Narendra Modi, Israeli PM Netanyahu says, “I have to comment to my friend Narendra, You have an amazingly efficient government. What you can do with one minister and one ambassador gives me thoughts. I don’t want you to worry about… pic.twitter.com/LG5L4Z6SbM

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 26, 2026

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In their discussions, Modi highlighted the vast potential of bilateral cooperation, noting that the relationship “in many areas can be very strong and useful for the global good”.

Modi referred to Israel’s specialisation in certain sectors, saying that “whether it is science, innovation, or educational institutions, you have great expertise in certain areas, especially regarding water and agriculture”, adding that India has already adopted several Israeli best practices in agriculture with encouraging outcomes.

A head of the government-level visit had been overdue between the two countries since 2019 when Netanyahu’s visit to the country was postponed because of the political crisis in the country. In 2020, the visit could not take place because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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In 2022, then-PM Naftali Bennet’s visit to India was announced but he tested positive for Covid-19 just weeks ahead of the visit and it was therefore postponed. By the time he recovered, Israel was in the grips of a political crisis again —the crisis that began in 2019— that did not allow him to make the visit. The next year, even though Netanyahu returned to power, the Hamas-led attack of October 7 ruled out any visit for the duration of the war.

Then, last year, Netanyahu was scheduled to visit India in December but it was called off over security concern about the Red Fort blast in Delhi.