India, Israel should cooperate to checkmate terror: Krishna
Krishna, the first Indian foreign minister to visit Israel in over a decade, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said, international terrorism is a "problem" for both countries and emphasised on need for greater bilateral trade relations.
"India
is a natural ally of Israel in all these frontiers of science. I look
forward to an increased economic content to our existing areas of
cooperation," he said, ahead of his breakfast meeting with Netanyahu.
Krishna
said India has learnt so much from Israel, particularly in the field of
agriculture and science and technological innovation.
Krishna said terrorism is a "problem" that is being commonly faced by both Israel as well as India.
"So
I think we will have to workout a strategy as how we address ourselves
to the scourge of international terrorism which has become a curse for
the entire humanity. "I think our efforts should be to checkmate it and
ultimately eradicate terror from the face of the earth," Krishna said.
Netanyahu responded by saying that he was looking forward to discussing "all areas of cooperation".
Krishna's
comments came in the backdrop of increasing cooperation between Tel
Aviv and New Delhi in the field of homeland security and defence. On
Monday, Krishna called on Israeli President Shimon Peres who described
India as the "greatest democracy on earth".
He also said Israel wants New Delhi to become a permanent member of the expanded United Nations Security Council.
Peres
said Tel Aviv was following New Delhi with "great care and interest".
Israel has emerged as the second biggest defence supplier to New Delhi
after Russia. From a buyer-seller relationship, both India and Israel
are now trying to branch out to joint research and development
initiatives.
Sources
said that after Mumbai attacks, India recognised Israel's expertise in
Homeland Security and related sectors. Many Israeli companies are active
in India providing their services to the public and private sectors.
Both
the countries are in discussion on a Free Trade Agreement and Israeli
Prime Minister on Tuesday said he believes that it will have a
multiplier effect on the bilateral trade volume.
The
bilateral trade and economic relations have progressed rapidly in
recent years. From a mere USD 200 million in 1992, the bilateral trade
with Israel was expected to reach USD 5 billion by last year-end. The
figure does not include defence purchases.
Comments
Post a Comment