Ahead of Modi’s Israel visit, US lawmakers pass law for trilateral security cooperation

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Israel later this year and seeing it as an opportunity to deepen strategic ties, US lawmakers have passed a legislation which aims at strengthening intelligence and security ties between India, Israel, and the US.

The US House of Representatives have attached a bipartisan amendment to the FY2016 Intelligence Authorization Act, which calls for an expansion of US-India-Israel national security and intelligence. It requires a bi annual report from the Director of National Intelligence on the possibilities for growing security cooperation between the US, India, and Israel.

According to Joseph Crowley, a Democratic lawmaker from New York, the US already has robust security partnerships with both India and Israel, but there remain several areas which can be developed further. “This amendment demonstrates the commitment of Congress to ensuring that our national security strategies include expanding our cooperation with India and Israel, two of our most important friends in their respective regions,” he said.

The lawmakers signaled that this move has been taken considering the Mr Modi’s much talked about visit to Israel, which shall provide an opportunity to expand trilateral relations.

The lone Indian-American member of the US Congress, Ami Bera, said that the three countries has long borne the brunt of terrorism, and it was important to share expertise to tackle future threats.

Considering the instability and rise of terror groups such as Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, and ISIS in parts of South Asia, West Asia and North Africa, it is only natural that the three nations should work together to combat national security issues.

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