India and Israel will intensify cooperation to fight terrorism and radicalisation apart from broad-basing Defence partnership. After the bilateral talks with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that the two Governments have also decided to prioritise specific engagements in areas like the cyber domain.
India and Israel also agreed to deepen cooperation in areas like trade and investment, agriculture, water resources. Two agreements in the field of agriculture and water resources management were signed after the talks
“We are familiar with Israel’s advances in agriculture, and its expertise in micro-irrigation in drought-prone areas and water management. We have identified water management and conservation, and collaboration in scientific research and development as two areas of priority engagement,” Modi said in a media statement.
The PM urged Israeli companies to scale up their tie-ups with India’s flagship schemes like Make in India, Digital India, Skill India, and Smart Cities.
“I would encourage the private sector stakeholders on both sides to take lead in utilising this perfect opportunity to build business ties of commerce and investment between our two countries in these areas. Indian and Israeli companies can also work together in high-technology manufacturing, and services sectors. Our partnership can generate jobs and benefit both geographies. IT services is an area where our partnership can make a difference for both our economies,” Modi said.
India is dependent on Israel for its security needs and it’s one of the largest buyers of weapons. Acknowledging the partnership between India and Israel in defence sector, Rivlin said his country will be happy to share its technology and is ready to ‘Make in India and ‘make with India’.
Talking about the constant threat from terrorism and extremism, Modi, in an indirect reference to Pakistan, said, “We recognise that terrorism is a global challenge, knows no boundaries and has extensive links with other forms of organised crime. Regrettably, one of the countries of its origin and spread is in India’s neighbourhood… Failure to act and silence of speech only encourages the terrorists.” Rivlin also asserted that nothing can justify terrorism.
Rivlin is on a state visit to India on the invitation of President Pranab Mukherjee. This visit by the Israeli President is the first in nearly 20 years, taking place in reciprocity to the October 2015 visit by Mukherjee. Rivlin is accompanied by heads of business and academic delegations including 15 heads of Israeli universities as well as Israeli companies some of which are active in India.