Tel Aviv: Army chief General  M.M. Naravane visited the Israel Defence Forces headquarters where he was briefed on multi-domain concept and force build up. Gen Naravane is here on a five-day maiden visit to further strengthen India’s defence and security cooperation with the Jewish state.

“General MM Naravane #COAS visited the Israel Defence Forces #IDF Headquarters & was given a nuanced brief on Multi Domain Concept & Force Build Up. #COAS also witnessed a technical demonstration by #IDF & exchanged token of appreciation,” the Indian Army tweeted.

Gen Naravane also visited the Indian Cemetery in the northern Israeli coastal city of Haifa where he paid tributes to brave Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during the World War I to liberate the city from the Ottoman rule in what most war historians consider “the last great cavalry campaign in history”.

“General MM Naravane #COAS visited the Indian Cemetery at #Haifa, #Israel & paid homage to the #Brave hearts of #IndianArmy who made the supreme sacrifice during the World War I,” it said in another tweet.

The Indian Army commemorates September 23 every year as Haifa Day to pay its respects to the three brave Indian Cavalry Regiments – Mysore, Hyderabad and Jodhpur Lancers – that helped liberate Haifa following a dashing cavalry action by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade.

The Indian Army chief visited the Northern border of Israel where he was briefed on terrain and border management aspects by Israel Defence Forces. Gen Naravane met with Major General Tamir Yadai, Israeli Army’s Chief of the Ground Forces and discussed ways to bolster bilateral military cooperation and also visited the Special Operations Unit of the Israel Defence Forces where he was briefed on various aspects of counter-terrorism operations.

Army Chief’s five-day maiden visit to Israel comes weeks after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar travelled to Tel Aviv. During the visit, Gen Naravane “will be meeting the country’s senior military and civilian leadership where he will discuss avenues for further enhancing Indo-Israel defence relations,” the Indian Army had said in a statement.

He will take forward the “excellent” bilateral defence cooperation between Israel and India through multiple meetings with senior officials of the security establishment and exchange views on various defence-related issues, it added.

In reflection of growing bilateral defence ties, India and Israel last month agreed to form a task force to develop a 10-year strategy for identifying new areas of collaboration in the defence sector.