During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him more than his friend but his brother. During this, he also described their hug as special.
Earlier, welcoming PM Modi in the Knesset, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “I have to tell you, Narendra, my dear friend, I am very, very happy with your coming here today. I would almost dare to say, more than a friend, a brother.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “It has been a wonderful friendship, both between us personally and between our two countries and our people. This morning, my wife Sarah and I welcomed you at the airport. And as soon as you came down the stairs, we hugged each other. It’s something special to have a personal hug from Prime Minister Modi. It’s called the Modi hug. It’s famous around the world and when you hug someone, really close, So you know it’s not a show. It’s called a Modi hug. So I want to return the hug to every member of the Knesset and it’s not only a sign of the personal relationship between us, but it really shows the warmth of the relationship between our two people.”
He further said, “India is a very big power of about one and a half billion people. Israel is a little small, but Israel is also very big. I want to say that the alliance between us is a very big multiplier of our different strengths, a very big multiplier. It is a multiplier of spirit and a multiplier of actions and capabilities.”