Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Friend of Narendra Modi, Cancels Visit to India For Second Time

Tel Aviv, September 3: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday announced that he is calling off his visit to India scheduled for next week. The visit was scheduled just days ahead of the country’s elections and was called off 'scheduling constraints'. Netanyahu even dialled his best friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi and informed him about the change in plans. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Likely to Visit India Soon To Meet Narendra Modi: Ron Malka

According to the previous schedule, Netanyahu was about to visit India on September 9 as a key part of his campaign for the unprecedented repeat general elections on September 17. This arrangement was made as he failed to form a coalition government earlier this year. Earlier, PM Modi, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were featured in the poster for Israeli PM's campaign.

Informing more about the change in schedule, Netanyahu’s spokesperson Shir Cohen said, as Hindustan Times quotes, "A short time ago, the prime minister spoke with India’s prime minister. The two agreed, due to scheduling constraints, that the (Israeli) prime minister’s visit would take place after the elections." Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu Thanks Narendra Modi for India's Vote Against Palestinian Group

This is not the first time that Netanyahu had cancelled his visit to India. Earlier, Netanyahu had also called off a visit that was scheduled to take place before India’s general election held in April-May. Prior to Netanyahu's schedule, Israel’s National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabbat travelled to India in January and met his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and Modi.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2019 10:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).