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NEW DELHI, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israeli President Reuven Rivlin arrived in India Monday on a six-day visit, aimed at bolstering bilateral ties.
President Rivlin landed in Mumbai in the morning, accompanied by a delegation of businessmen and academicians, and paid respects at the sites of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which over 170 people, including six Jews, were killed.
The visiting Israeli president will head to the Indian capital later in the evening, where he is slated to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during his stay, sources said.
He will also visit several sites of cooperation and joint projects between India and Israel, the sources said.
"I am departing now on an important visit to India, an important ally and close friend of Israel. This visit is a sign of the strong relations and friendship between our peoples, and I hope will plant the seeds for that friendship to grow closer and closer," Rivlin said in departure statement.
The last Israeli president to visit India was Ezer Weizman in January 1997, while Indian President Pranab Mukherjee visited Israel in October 2015.
