During the last 30 years, bilateral relations have matured in a wide variety of fields: health and innovation, agriculture and water, trade and economic activities, science and technology, research and development, defence and homeland security, art and culture, tourism and space

by Amb. Naor Gilon

What Israel and India have achieved together since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties on January 29, 1992 is unprecedented. The relations between our two ancient civilisations date back thousands of years and the Jewish community in India is one of the cornerstones of these ties.

Jews have been living in India peacefully for generations. They never suffered persecution or Anti-Semitism. The welcoming Indian society is what allowed them to flourish and become an integral part of this amazing mosaic.

During the last 30 years, bilateral relations have matured in a wide variety of fields: health and innovation, agriculture and water, trade and economic activities, science and technology, research and development, defence and homeland security, art and culture, tourism and space.

Our relationship with India is no longer only a close friendship, but a multi-faceted strategic partnership. This is evident from the many high-level visits, including reciprocal visits by presidents and prime ministers. More high-level visits are planned for the coming year.

India is one of our major partners in the Indo-Pacific region. The areas in which our bilateral cooperation focuses on today are representative of Israel’s continuing interests in the Indo-Pacific as a whole: Overcoming the global pandemic, fighting terrorism, expanding trade, and addressing the threat posed by climate change.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Israel has coordinated closely with India on a number of joint ventures. We have cooperated in research, organised medical delegations, exchanged medical equipment, and arranged free women’s health clinics. Both countries have agreed to a mutual recognition of vaccine certificates. All of this provides a solid platform upon which we can continue to deepen our cooperation in health care and public health.

We have witnessed a steady growth in every field of cooperation, including defence. Israel was among the first to ‘Make in India, Make With India’ even before the ‘Make in India’ campaign began. We have also seen many high-level visits by Indian military leaders to Israel as well as India’s recent participation in the Blue Flag exercise hosted by the Israeli Air Force.

Both countries have understood that in order to be sustainable, this partnership must be nurtured from the roots and encouraged at the stage of academic cooperation. Beginning by bringing our students and academics together, we enrich one another and expand the horizons of our shared knowledge. Already, 10% of the foreign students in Israel are Indian and more cooperation is in the pipeline. Reaching out to even younger students, we will be sponsoring a bus bringing a mobile classroom to underprivileged neighbourhoods around New Delhi for the next five years.

Israel is the start-up nation, and we have so much to share and learn from our friends in India. Already, we have seen a substantial increase in business ventures between start-ups and tech companies of both countries. Green energy is another sector where we are proud to deepen our cooperation. Recently Israel joined the India-led International Solar Alliance. Together, our countries can play a major role in the global fight against the climate crisis.

Agriculture and water security are vital aspects of our partnership with India. What began over 30 years ago with the arrival of Israeli drip irrigation in India has evolved into 29 Centres of Excellence under the Indo-Israeli Agricultural Project with MASHAV. This is the biggest agriculture project in which the government of Israel is involved anywhere in the world, and it touches the livelihoods of millions of Indian farmers.

In the field of water, many Israeli-led projects have been implemented in India, the most recent being the flagship water project in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh. To further strengthen our cooperation, we have appointed for the first time a special envoy - an expert in water resource management - to work with government officials and industry.

The task before us is to continue to strengthen and deepen our relationship and to tap the almost unlimited scope of our bilateral cooperation. Our young, fast-growing and knowledge-based societies and economies provide us with the human and material resources to achieve our bilateral goals. I can confidently say that the foundations of our relations are strong and will allow us to build upon them in taking our relations to new and unprecedented heights.

Naor Gilon is ambassador of Israel to India