On Monday, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in India to begin work on a free trade pact. This is the first visit by an Israeli dignitary in 15 years. Over the years, India and Israel have strengthened their ties mostly through arms purchases.
Since Narendra Modi came to power he has appreciated Israel’s struggle against terrorism which resulted in their ties strengthening across the economy. On Monday the two leaders Netanyahu and Modi signed 9 agreements regarding cooperation in cyber security, space and oil and gas exploration. After signing the agreements Netanyahu said, “We have had diplomatic relations for 25 years, but something different is happening now.”
Israel has given initial approval to the Indian energy companies to be able to explore for oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean. This is the first move by the Indian firms in that particular region. Netanyahu stated he saw a kindred spirit in Modi in terms of getting work done. During their talks, the Israeli PM pushed for a free trade pact with Asia’s third largest economy. PM Modi agreed to open trade discussions with Israel. Vijay Gokhale India’s Foreign Ministry Secretary said, “A delegation from the commerce ministry will actually go next month for discussions on trade.”
In 1992 when Israel and India opened diplomatic relations the bilateral trade was $ 200 million and has jumped to $ 4.16 billion in 2016. Netanyahu visited India with a 130 member delegation with the suggestion to increase exports to India by 25% in the next three years.
Israel stands among India’s biggest suppliers of weapons along with the United States and Russia. Both the sides refused to talk about the $ 500 million deal to buy anti tank missiles from Israel’s defense contractor Rafael. The deal was called off by India just weeks before Netanyahu’s visit. The Indian Government decided to support a local programme by getting it to build the missile but Israel continues to try and revive the order.
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