Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his eventful Mumbai visit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Mumbai today. The last leg of his six-day India trip, Netanyahu's day in Mumbai is chock-a-block. The highlights include a power breakfast with India's pioneering business leaders, meeting Jewish community members, paying tribute to the 26/11 terror attack victims and attending a Bollywood event. Read on for more.
Netanyahu's warm welcome at Mumbai airport
Breakfast with top guns, India-Israel Business Summit at Taj next
Netanyahu landed in Mumbai on Wednesday. Over breakfast, he met India's leading industrialists, businessmen and bankers including Anand Mahindra, Ajay Piramal, Adi Godrej and Chanda Kochhar. Next, the Israeli PM will attend the India-Israel Business Summit at Taj Hotel. There he will commemorate 2008 Mumbai terror attack victims, interact with affected families and Indian Jews. He will also meet Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Fadnavis hopes to work with Israel for developing agriculture, technologies
Fadnavis announced his meeting with Netanyahu on Twitter on Wednesday night. "Tomorrow I will be joining Hon @netanyahu in Business Forum Meet in the morning and at wreath laying ceremony at 26/11 memorial in the afternoon," he tweeted. "Maharashtra looks forward to discussions and collaboration with @Israel for development in agriculture, sustainable irrigation and technologies for security!" he wrote in another tweet.
However, Palestinian solidarity groups slam Israeli PM's India visit
Netanyahu will then proceed to Nariman House, where he shall meet 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg, whose parents were killed during the 2008 attacks. He will end the day with a 'Shalom' Bollywood event at the Taj. Meanwhile, the India Palestine Solidarity Forum and 38 other groups will stage a protest at Mumbai's Azad Maidan, slamming the Israeli PM's India visit.
Netanyahu is visiting India for the first time
This is Netanyahu's first India visit. Upon reaching on January 14, he received a rousing welcome by PM Narendra Modi, with whom Netanyahu says he shares a personal friendship. Over the course of this visit, which aims to strengthen political and economic ties between the two nations, Netanyahu has famously participated in kite flying festivities and visited the Taj Mahal with his wife.