ABSTRACT
In September 1950, after two years of intense debates, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru decided to recognise the newly created state of Israel while deferring the establishment of full diplomatic relations.1 It was not however until January 1992 that India became the last major non-Arab and non-Islamic State to establish full and normal diplomatic relations with Israel.2 The absence of any substantial exchanges during 42 years is surprising as both countries lacked any direct conflict of interest. Paradoxically, there was no major reappraisal of India’s neutral and sometimes even unfavourable posture towards Israel. For the past two decades, India and Israel have developed cooperation in agriculture, culture, tourism and most especially trade and military exchanges. This fast burgeoning relationship demonstrates that there had always been a potential for fruitful and complementary cooperation between the two nations.
