India-Israel sign bilateral agreements on energy, cyber security
NEW DELHI : India and Israel on Monday inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cyber security, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu held extensive talks to strengthen ties in the strategic areas of defence and counter- terrorism.
Modi also invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production in the sector. India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology and security, Modi said at a joint media event with Netanyahu. On his part, Netanyahu described Modi as a “revolutionary” leader.
Apart from a pact on cyber security, the agreements included cooperation in the oil and gas sector, film-co- production as well as amendments to an air transport pact. Netanyahu, arrived here on Sunday, and will also visit Ahmedabad and Mumbai during his six-day stay in India. Here are the latest updates and developments from Israeli PM Netanyahu’s India visit:
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu held delegartion-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi invited Israeli defence companies to take advantage of the liberalized FDI regime to make more in India with Indian companies. The two countries also inked 9 MoUs in areas like oil and gas, air transport, space, etc.
In the joint statement, the two leaders also expressed desire to scale up the existing Centers of Excellence in India which have been a main-stay of agricultural cooperation between the two countries by bringing in advanced Israeli practices and technology. We are venturing into less explored areas of cooperation, such as oil and gas, cyber security, films, and start-ups, PM Modi said in his address.
India’s recent vote at the United Nations General Assembly, opposing U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, did not dent ties as bilateral ties are “much larger” than one issue, the External Affairs Ministry said on Monday.
Speaking to presspersons, Vijay Gokhale, Secretary in charge of Economic Relations in the Ministry, said that both sides viewed ties “holistically” even as they sought an early resumption of peace talks between Israel and Palestinians. Both sides agreed that our relationship is much larger and our relationship is not determined by this [vote],” Mr. Gokhale said.*With Agency Inputs ).
