India and Israel are expected to sign a Free Trade Agreement, giving a boost to the bilateral trade from the current $5 billion to $15 billion level. Israel’s Ambassador to India Alon Ushpiz said this while addressing a seminar in the Capital on Dec 7. While providing details of the Indo-Israel bilateral relations, Ushpiz observed that differences of opinion on some issues have not affected the bilateral relations.
Israel is in the process of setting up seven centres of excellence in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which the Israeli Ambassador thinks will facilitate the transfer of cutting edge agricultural technologies to Indian farmers. Tourism is also a growing aspect of importance in bilateral relationship. During 2002-07, India bought $5 billion worth of defence equipment from Israel, whose investments in India have grown to $3 billion.
Earlier, Ambassador Chinmaya R. Gharekhan, formerly Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on West Asia and the Middle East Peace Process, in his keynote address, emphasised that there is strong public support among the Indian public for the Palestinian cause. He also asserted that Indo-Israel relations based on mutual benefit are growing satisfactorily.