Israel for joint defence R&D with India

New Delhi

18 August 2005

Distinct from a buyer-seller relationship, Israel's defence industry is focussing on developing advance technologies "jointly with other partners including India", says Israeli ambassador in India, Mr David Danieli. Israel, he observes, will "cooperate whenever necessary" in civilian applications of defence research and development besides civilian space research.

Israel has emerged as the second largest supplier of military equipment to India after Russia with military purchases agreed to the tune of Rs 11,882.54 crore over the last few years.

In an interview to this newspaper, Mr Danieli said the robust bilateral relationship between India and Israel extends to other areas as well. India is Israel's number one export destination in Asia and second most important source of imports in Asia after China. Bilateral trade is expected to touch 2.7 billion US $ by end of 2005. Union Minister of State for Science and Technology has recently returned from Israel; his colleague, Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, is expected to visit Tel Aviv for which both sides currently are negotiating an economic agreement.

Appreciating India's supportive and encouraging role in furthering the peace process in West Asia, the Israeli ambassador asserted that there was no "trade-off" between Gaza and West Bank in the disengagement plan and that Israel was leaving Gaza to "move swiftly" and "not be stuck with the peace process for ever".

Israel, Mr Danieli explained, did not want to become a "hostage to peace process" and that the peace process was not an end in itself but a means to achieving the end goal of peaceful coexistence. He added that a reason for pulling out from Gaza was to "ease tension and create new economic opportunities to work together and reengage the Palestinians on the negotiating table".

Asked whether the peace process had become irreversible with the pullout from Gaza, the Israeli ambassador said, "None [can] provide definite assurance about [success of] peace process." He went on to state that it was now up to the Palestinians to live up to the challenges like dismantling of terrorist infrastructure, streamlining of security apparatus and undertaking of democratic reform.

He cautioned that the disengagement plan was "not a move that does not involve risks" but was needed nevertheless in order to "create new positive realities on the ground and reenergise the peace process".