Indo-Israel relationship -------------------------------***State visit to Israel by Indian external affairs minister SM Krishna marks a significant milestone in the Indo-Israel

relationship...He will be the highest-ranking Indian official to visit Israel in more than a decade and the decision to send him was not made lightly or in haste. It is no coincidence that the visit is coming at the beginning of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries. But that is only slightly more than pretext. There are far more pressing issues that make it an appropriate time for an official of Krishna s status to come to Jerusalem. ***Despite the fact that the bilateral relationship is the best it s ever been and growing stronger, India has been reticent to openly embrace Israel. So what is changing? **For starters, India continues a transformation which began in 1991, when it broke free of its socialist moorings and adopted a free-market orientation. In doing so, it began to broaden its national vision beyond domestic and regional boundaries. This change in policy and perspective triggered the economic resurgence that has made India one of the world s largest and fastest growing economies, and provided the nation s leadership with the resources to actively pursue long-touted development initiatives. This, in turn, created a showcase for Israeli technologies that could noticeably improve the lives of millions of Indian citizens. Over the past 20 years, Israeli firms have played a meaningful role in meeting India s development goals, including in the areas of food production, water safety and management, and even cancer screening and prevention. ***Additionally, Israel has been a faithful ally to India in her conflicts with her neighbours, supplying training and material that wouldn t have been otherwise available. The ever-increasing threat of external aggression from State and non-State actors, and a mutual commitment to combating global terrorism ensures that this partnership will be strong and enduring. **The major point of divergence has been, and continues to be, issues related to the Arab/Palestinian-Israeli conflict. India s support for the Palestinians is unfailing, and will remain so, but this need not curtail a close bilateral relationship. Successive Israeli governments have accepted the two-State solution, by which an independent Palestinian State will live side-by-side with the State of Israel. India and Israel recognise the inherent positives in stronger ties. In addition to the aforementioned benefits that Israeli technology offers India, there is the enormous upside Israeli entrepreneurs can realise from partnering with India s deep reservoir of skilled global corporate managers. In the diplomatic realm, India believes, correctly, she can and would like to play a more constructive role in West Asia, and more specifically, the search for peace. To accomplish the former, it will be necessary for New Delhi to be seen in Jerusalem as an objective interlocutor. For its part, Israel understands that an India supportive of Palestinian aspirations yet openly engaged with Israel, is both a powerful symbol and example to the international community. **In short, the current and perceived tangible benefits of closer bilateral ties provide ample motivation and justification for a policy of broad-based, open engagement. India-Israel relations: A mutually beneficial relationship

-------------------------------------------------------------------**As Israel and India celebrate 20 years of diplomatic relations, the relationship between the two countries continues to develop and grow. **Since 1992, Israel has emerged as an important partner for India on many fronts. Science and technology cooperation is a major growth area, and the India-Israel Initiative for Industrial R&D focuses on nanotechnology, biotechnology, space, water management and non-conventional energy sources. **India s Space Research Organization (ISRO) has launched Israeli satellites, and there are important opportunities for Israeli companies in India s growing water management sector. **The Agriculture Work Plan program, launched in 2006, is also expanding. It helps bring Israeli agricultural technologies to Indian farmers. Subsequently, an Action Plan 2012-2015 was adopted to implement concrete projects including setting up of centers of excellence in several Indian states. The fourth meeting of India-Israel Forum, an annual event organized by Tel Aviv and Confederation of Indian Industry, was held in Tel Aviv in August 2011. **Overall, India is currently Israel s sixth-largest trading partner, and nearly 40,000 Israeli tourists visited India in 2010.Although the bilateral relationship is dominated by defense cooperation, new sectors of cooperation are also emerging. **Indo-Israel trade was approximately $4.8 billion in 2010, and Israeli companies and entrepreneurs benefit from India s huge market of 1.2 billion people, as well as the growing middle class of 300 million. The two countries are now negotiating a bilateral Free Trade Agreement. **On the defense front, Israel s timely help with defense equipment during the Kargil war with Pakistan is appreciated in India, and Israel has emerged as India s second largest supplier of defense equipment. In recent years India has bought sophisticated defense equipment from Israel including the Phalcon AWACS, Barak missiles and anti-missile air defense systems fighter & helicopter upgrades etc. India and Israel also have cooperated in fighting terrorism. **With the world s second largest Muslim population, India has understandably been a traditional supporter of the Palestinian cause. That is still India s position, and Israel is well aware of India s principled stand on the Palestinian issue. **But India is a diverse country, and while some sectors of Indian society feel our relations with Israel come at the expense of traditional support for the Palestinians, the government has adopted a balanced and pragmatic approach by continuing and deepening engagement with Israel. **Nor has that stance harmed our relations with the Gulf counties. India-GCC trade in 2010-11 stood at $119 billion, and nearly 6 million Indian nationals work in the Gulf and send home remittances worth $30 billion annually. Nearly two-thirds of India s energy imports are from the Gulf countries, including Iran. India cannot afford to neglect these ties. **Importantly, our disagreement over this issue has not prevented the multifaceted growth of bilateral ties with Israel, and the strategic significance of good relations with India has not been lost on Israel. **The same can be said for our relations with Iran, our next-door neighborhood and an important

trade partner. India sources nearly 11 percent of its global energy imports from Iran, and we are of the opinion that isolating Tehran will not help matters. **India favors a negotiated and peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue through dialogue, and our government has urged Iran to abide by its commitments under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. It voted against Iran at the IAEA on several occasions in the past, and the Indian navy plays a constructive role in combating piracy in the Gulf of Aden. **Defense diplomacy has emerged as an important component of Indian diplomacy. **We are hopeful that by maintaining good relations with Tehran, we will be able to play a constructive role in the resolution of outstanding issues in the region. **Over the past 20 years, India has emerged as one of the world s leading economies. Our economy opened up in 1991. Since then India s foreign policy has diversified. We became a nuclear power in 1998 and upgraded relations with the United States with the 2005 Indo-US defense cooperation agreement and the 2006 Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation deal. Other strategic partnerships have been signed with Japan, South Korea, Russia and the European Union. India is now regarded as a strong candidate for the permanent membership of the reformed UN Security Council. **To mark the landmark occasion of 20 years of India-Israel diplomatic relations, Foreign Minister SM Krishna s visit to Israel today and tomorrow will highlight the future direction of the relationship against the backdrop of a changing global and regional scenario. The visit will impart the requisite political content to a relationship which has been otherwise flourishing in the past few years, and should serve to assure the Israelis of the confirmed high importance given by India to its relations with Israel