Namaste! Netanyahu greets PM Modi, Indians on Independence Day

Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday extended his greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India on the occasion of 73rd Independence Day describing the relation between the two countries as one of genuine friendship.

"To my friend Prime Minister Modi and the people of India... Namaste, Happy Independence day! The relations between India and Israel are like never before. It's not merely cooperation in so many fields, it's genuine friendship. Happy Independence Day," Netanyahu said in a video posted on Twitter.

The video ran a montage of the various meetings between Modi and Netanyahu over the past few years. The tweet accompanied a text in Hindu, wishing the people of India Happy Independence day.

India and Israel share an extensive economic, military and strategic relationship that has strengthened in recent years. Recently, an election advertisement banner, featuring the image of Modi standing with Netanyahu, was spotted in Israel.

Also on the occasion of International Friendship Day, Israel greeted India in a unique manner. Israel Embassy in India tweeted: "Happy #FriendshipDay2019 India! May our ever-strengthening friendship & #growingpartnership touch greater heights."

Along with the tweet, the Israel embassy attached a video clip that shows several photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu shaking hands and greeting each other. The background song in the video is the 'Yeh dosti hum nahi todenge' song from the Bollywood flick 'Sholay'.

Netanyahu was the first world leader to congratulate Modi for scripting an "impressive victory" in the 2019 General Elections and had vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties with India.