By: Express News Service Ahmedabad | Updated: September 10, 2025 09:23 PM IST 2 min readIsrael's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich meeting Gujarat's Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. (Source: X)Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich met Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and visited the Gujarat International Finance-Tec (GIFT) City on Wednesday. The discussions focused on the participation of Israeli finance institutions in centres like GIFT City and strengthening ties between the two countries in the fields of heritage, tradition, culture, and technology.A statement from the government said that CM Patel “expressed condolences for the citizens who lost their lives in recent events in Israel”.Smotrich, who is on a three-day visit to India, highlighted GIFT city’s potential as a “platform for India-Israel Collaboration”, during his visit to the Smart City.The government statement quoted the Israeli Finance Minister as saying that he had come to Gujarat “specifically to foster business-to-business relations and explore opportunities for the participation of Israeli financial institutions in the management of international financial centers like GIFT City”.The CM suggested that a joint team of officials from the Gujarat government and Israel could be formed to discuss and advance further opportunities in this direction.Smotrich was accompanied by a delegation of senior officials from the Israeli government besides regulators. The minister held detailed discussions with the Chairperson of the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA), K Rajaraman; Managing Director and group CEO of GIFT City, Sanjay Kaul; and other officials.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Bhupendra PatelGujarat