Jerusalem, May 23 (IANS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday congratulated his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appeared set to retain power for a second term and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties.

"Heartfelt congratulations, my friend @Narendramodi, on your impressive victory in the elections," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew.

"The election results are more validation of your leadership and the way you lead the largest democracy in the world. Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us, and between India and Israel and take it to new heights," he said.

Modi in 2017 became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. Netanyahu reciprocated with a visit to India in January 2018.

--IANS soni/pcj