New Delhi

Israel looks with admiration to the achievements of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his friendship remains very dear to the country, believes Reuven Azar, the Ambassador of Israel to India.

"We are actually looking with admiration to the achievements of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His friendship is very dear to us. We saw he was the first to call us following the 7th of October (Hamas attack). We saw how he stood by us during the last year-and-a-half. We know that we think alike on many things. We look at things in a similar way. We have similar challenges. Therefore, I am confident that in the coming years, we'll be able to do many more things together," Azar told IANS in an exclusive interview.

He also called India "a rising power in the world" which is becoming important to Israel, not just as a business partner, but also as an element in its supply chains.

The seasoned diplomat believes that the credit for a thriving, "great India-Israel partnership" goes to the leaders of the both countries - PM Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - as they share a similar vision and have an agenda of development.

"They want to create entrepreneurs. They believe in freedom. They believe in free markets, and in reform. This has brought them together. We have been working with India on many issues on defence, on defence industry, on irrigation and water-related issues. Now, we have the challenge to work on issues like high-tech and innovation that create a huge effect on the economy.

Underscoring the growing partnership between the two nations, the Israeli Ambassador highlighted the historic high-level visit of a CEO delegation - led by Israel's Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat - to India earlier this month at the invitation of Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.

The delegation, comprising over 100 top Israeli CEOs from healthcare, cyber and HLS, energy, automotive, retail, logistics and hi-tech sectors, showcased Israel's innovative spirit and advanced capabilities.

"About 80 to 100 companies came here to do business. They met with the Indian companies. We also want to work together in the field of infrastructure as India has a lot to offer in this field. We want to sign agreements to ease business with us... We have mapped all these things we want to do together. We are working very seriously together with the Indian government... I hope that this year, in which we are coming out of this war and are energized to do more things, we will achieve it," said Azar.

As India and Israel continue to work together to develop the India Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and turning Israel's second largest port of Haifa into a major trade hub on the Mediterranean coast, the Israeli Ambassador acknowledged New Delhi's efforts in improving connectivity and building resilient and reliable supply chains over the last few years.

"Logistics indeed works in networks. So the question is, what is the level of efficiency of the networks that you have that allow you to do trade in a way that is cheaper, that is more effective and is faster. So in this context, the quest of India to create connectivity is very understandable. We want to be part of that. It also has to stand on stable strategic foundations. So the fact that we have security cooperation in our region between Israel and our Arab countries, between Israel and the Gulf under an American umbrella, gives me the confidence that we will be able to execute these corridors of connectivity that are coming from India to Europe, passing through the Middle East, and vice versa. This has huge potential," Azar told IANS.

He also spotlighted several other areas where India and Israel continue to strengthen cooperation.

"I'll tell you why this (partnership) is so special. First of all, when it comes to our defence cooperation, Israel has been the first country that adapted to the 'Make in India' policy. We today stand in a situation in which we have created a lot of joint ventures here. We're producing together on Indian soil, advanced drones. We are producing autonomous helicopters, autonomous amphibious machinery. We are producing ammunition together. Israel and Israeli industries have established factories here that do maintenance for the equipment that we have supplied to the Indian Army. And we are beginning to do together.

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"So this is something very special that shows the level of trust that exists both between the security establishments, also between the companies. This is not something you can take for granted. This was something that was built with many years of hard work. And it's very important for both countries. In the field of agriculture, the fact that India has decided to bet on Israeli technology paid big time because today many farmers in India use these technologies and they have been able to increase their crops and to create not only food security but also make India into a net food exporter which is important," he stated.