India's friend
In September 2003, Ariel Sharon became the first Israeli prime minister to visit India.
'We are very much interested in developing and strengthening our relations with India because India is one of the most important countries in the world,' he said at a ceremonial reception on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Though the two nations established diplomatic relations in 1992, relations were cemented during the 1999 Kargil war, during which Israel reportedly helped India with intelligence and military inputs.
Image: Ariel Sharon, the first Israeli prime minister to visit India, pays homage at Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi, Rajghat, in New Delhi on Tuesday, September 9, 2003.
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