India Israel join hands to fight terror

Tel Aviv: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his keenness for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Netanyahu told visiting Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh his country wanted to take advantage of the move and Israel was ready and willing to discuss transfer and development of technologies with India.

Contending that terror is a global menace, they reviewed existing cooperation and future possibilities of enhancing engagement in dealing with the threat.

Both the leaders also expressed their countries’ keenness to strengthen ties, with Netanyahu emphasising that he “believes that relations between the two countries were poised for rapid development” following his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September in New York.

Modi, as the chief minister of Gujarat, had expanded trade relations with Israel beyond the realm of defence and the diamond trade. The new initiatives included pharmaceuticals, water management, water recycling plants, agro-research, advanced agriculture technologies, and solar power.

The countries may also join hands in the twin-city plan which could see a five-year cooperation between Vadodara and Ashkelon.

Since full diplomatic relations between Israel and India were established in 1992, the two have gradually but significantly moved closer together – primarily on the basis of growing economic trade, centring around sales by Israel’s defence industry to India.

A growing Indo-Israeli military dimension was codified in 2001 through the Joint Defence Cooperation Group.

India constitutes the largest market for the Israeli defence industry, and Israel is the second largest supplier of arms to India, after Russia. According to 2012 estimates, India accounts for $1 to $1.5 billion of Israel’s $7 billion total defence exports.

Singh had made a strong pitch for Israeli industries, including those from the defence sector, to take advantage of the investment friendly policies adopted by the new government with special reference to the ‘Make in India’ campaign.

“Israeli industries, including the Defence industries, could ‘make in India’ and thereby reduce costs of manufacturing products and systems developed by Israel”, the Israeli prime minister said.

Netanyahu also expressed willingness to send a delegation from Israeli industries to visit India to explore manufacturing opportunities in different sectors.

Meanwhile, Singh proposed jointly exploring third country markets in Africa and Latin America, where Indian industry has a strong presence.

Launched in September, the ‘Make in India’ is a major national programme designed to facilitate investment, foster innovation, enhance skill development and build best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure.

During the meet, Netanyahu said “sky is the limit” in terms of prospects of cooperation between the two countries.

Singh and Netanyahu discussed the regional situation and the evolving threats to the global communities from terror.

Singh said terror was a threat not only to countries like India and Israel but to the whole world.

Vowing to strengthen India’s “very warm” relations with Israel, Singh on his first bilateral visit to Israel said, “India and Israel share very warm and cordial bilateral relations. We look forward to strengthen it further”.

Fresh from his participation at Interpol General Assembly in Monaco, Mr. Singh told PTI that he also made a strong pitch for cooperation in the field of cyber security during his one hour conversation with the Israeli Premier.

Singh was earlier widely quoted in the press for highlighting the use of social media for indoctrination by Jihadi elements and the urgent need to device ways to curb this practice through the use of internet.

Netanyahu briefed the Indian Home Minister on technologies that had been developed by Israel in areas such as aviation security, border protection and water harvesting.

Responding favourably to Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Israeli leader said that his country is ready and willing to discuss transfer and development of technologies with India.

“Israeli industries, including the defence industries, could ‘make in India’ and thereby reduce costs of manufacturing products and systems developed by Israel,” the Israeli Premier said.

The Israeli leader also expressed willingness to send a delegation from Israeli industries to visit India to explore manufacturing opportunities in different sectors.

Singh, in this context, proposed exploring together third country markets in Africa and Latin America, where Indian industry has a strong presence.

The Indian Home Minister earlier yesterday took a helicopter tour of the Jordan Valley and Israel’s northern and southern Region with National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen to get a sense of the security situation in the region.

Cohen had recently met Mr. Singh in New Delhi and discussed “common challenges” faced by the two countries and their solutions, emphasising his country’s “willingness to expand cooperation in all fields and in any level”.

Israel has extended a red carpet welcome for the Indian leader making several exceptions which are reserved only for heads of states.

Singh was also hosted by Israel’s Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich on Thursday evening.