External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Israel's Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Yuval Steinitz on Monday, the second day of her visit to Israel.“Building India - Israel collaborations. EAM @SushmaSwaraj meets with senior Minister Yuval Steinitz over lunch,” external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup.Ahead of the Indian minister's visit, Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon said on Wednesday that Israel and India would collaborate in the areas of agriculture and water management. Stating that Israel had faced the problem of water scarcity, he said that his country would collaborate with the Indian private sector on this and was in close contact with India's water resources and Ganga rejuvenation ministry.
Ahead of the meeting with Steinitz, Sushma Swaraj made a courtesy call on Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.Earlier on Monday, Sushma Swaraj called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said that India attached highest importance to its bilateral relationship with Israel.She also paid homage at Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, located near Jerusalem.Sushma Swaraj, who arrived here on Saturday, went to Ramallah, the administrative capital of Palestine, on Sunday and held bilateral discussions with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al Maliki and also called on President Mahmoud Abbas.The Indian minister is being accompanied by the Secretary (East) in the external affairs ministry, Anil Wadhwa, and a number of other senior officials of the ministry during her visit to Israel and Palestine.Sushma Swaraj's visit to Israel comes after the visit of President Pranab Mukherjee in October last year.