The Indian Ambassador highlighted the tremendous progress made over the past 27 years of bilateral diplomatic relations in the areas of defence, agriculture, high-technology and water management

WASHINGTON: India regards Israel as a "reliable" defence and security partner" and there is a growing cooperation between the two nations on issues like counter-terrorism, the Indian envoy here has said.

Indian Ambassador to the United States, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, participating in a panel discussion on India-Israel relationship at the annual AIPAC 2019 Conference highlighted the tremendous progress made over the past 27 years of bilateral diplomatic relations in the areas of defence, agriculture, high-technology and water management.

Shringla said that India regards Israel as "a reliable defence and security partner" and that there is growing convergence of views and cooperation on issues such as counter-terrorism, based on a shared perception of the global threats of terrorism, radicalism and fundamentalism.

He noted that India-Israel relations witnessed a marked upswing in the last five years with a number of unprecedented high-level exchanges, including the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in July 2017. Modi was the first ever Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel.

Shringla said Jews had always found a safe homeland in India.