JERUSALEM: Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday congratulated India on the 70th anniversary of adopting the Constitution, calling it a “landmark” document that reflects the country’s unique culture and history.
The two top leaders said they were impressed by India’s development and economy. “Congratulations to my dear friend Prime Minister @Narendra Modi? and the people of India on the 70th anniversary of India’s Constitution Day”, Netanyahu said in a tweet today morning.
“India is the largest democracy in the world. Your landmark constitution combines East and West, reflecting India’s unique history & culture,” he said in another tweet. The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949 and came into force on January 26, 1950.
Several other Israeli leaders, including President Rivlin, also released video messages congratulating India on the Constitution Day. “Dear Friends all over India, Congratulations! Congratulations on your Constitution Day marking 70 years of a strong democracy, in the biggest democracy in the world,” Rivlin said.
“I remember my special visit to India three years ago. I was amazed and inspired by the power, strength and energy of your great nation. I was deeply impressed by your great development, and your economy,” the Israeli President stressed.
Thanking India for strong “friendship and partnership” with Israel, the President wished it continued “vibrant democracy”.
“The Republic of India and Israel are homes for ancient people and young States with shared values. We face similar challenges and we work together as partners and as friends in order to enrich each other, and aid each other, to keep growing and flourishing,” he said.
Rivlin also pointed out that both India and Israel have accepted every major challenge as an opportunity and managed to do well. “Many young Israelis admire your culture and adore India’s breathtaking nature. This is an example of a strong relationship between our nations. Relationship based on mutual learning and cooperation in the fields of water, agriculture, solar power and of course security,” Rivlin added touching upon growing people to people contacts between the two countries.
Israeli Knesset’s (parliament) Speaker, Yuli Edelstein, also released a video message congratulating India on the Constitution Day calling upon for enhanced parliamentary exchanges calling it the “beating heart” of any democracy.
“It is not a secret that the ties between our countries is very strong. We enjoy the visits of our leaders, we enjoy strong bilateral cooperation and hope that we will continue on this path. A parliament is the beating heart of any democracy. We are young democracies but we are strongly committed to the democratic values which is another platform for our cooperation,” Edelstein said.
“I think it is our challenge as legislators to make sure that we first of all serve our citizens, those who sent us to our parliaments. Second of all, we make sure that we develop relations between parliaments, in this case between Israeli Knesset and the parliament of India to exchange the best practices, to exchange our experiences and to serve our constituents even better,” the Knesset Speaker said.
Edelstein also emphasised on involving more the common citizens in the democratic process.
“The Constitution Day is also a good moment to remind ourselves that we can’t do our work alone. we need to get our citizens involved,” he asserted.
The Mayor of Tel Aviv – Yafo, Ron Huldai, also joined in to congratulate India on the occasion calling upon the two countries to further strengthen collaboration in various fields.
“On behalf of City of Tel Aviv-Yafo I congratulate you on the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India. India and Israel share a commitment to democracy, respect for human rights, liberty and equality. The strong ties between our two countries can be seen in the collaborative projects in many fields, some of which are taking place in Te Aviv – Yafo,” Huldai said in his video message.
“For the past five years the citizens of Tel Aviv – Yafo have joined you in collaborating in the (celebration) of International Yoga Day as well as other Indian festivities. On a more personal note, I recall my visits to India over the past two years, especially the one in 2018 to the city of Thane,” he added.
“During that occasion I was very warmly received by the citizens of Thane. Together with the City officials we inaugurated the Digital Thane project created in Tel Aviv – Yafo the goal of which is to improve the municipal services to the citizens,” he noted.
The Mayor also called upon to build his city’s ties with other cities in India. PTI
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