New Delhi: Setting aside protocol, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today received his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived here on a six-day visit.

Modi received Prime Minister Netanyahu at the airport. He welcomed Netanyahu with a hug upon his arrival. The Israeli prime minister is accompanied by his wife Sara.

"Welcome to India, my friend PM @netanyahu! Your visit to India is historic and special. It will further cement the close friendship between our nations," Modi tweeted in English and Hebrew.

During the visit, the two leaders will hold a comprehensive dialogue on a variety of issues.

The two will attend a ceremony at the Teen Murti Memorial here this afternoon to mark the formal renaming of Teen Murti Chowk as the Teen Murti Haifa Chowk, after the Israeli city of Haifa.

The two leaders will lay a wreath and sign the visitor's book at the memorial, official sources said.

The three bronze statues at Teen Murti represent the Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers who were part of the 15 Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade.

The brigade carried out the victorious assault on the fortified city of Haifa on September 23, 1918, during World War I.