NEW DELHI, 10 February 2004 — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel Silvan Shalom arrived in India yesterday on a three-day visit. He is accompanied by a five-member official delegation.
Shalom will hold talks with Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha and Defense Minister George Fernandes in New Delhi today. He will also call on President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
In Bombay, where he landed yesterday, Shalom met 50 top industrialists and spoke of the need for India and Israel to work together to fight terrorism.
“With the escalating threat of global terrorism, there is a need for closer cooperation to combat terrorism. India and Israel should work together to put this element out,” Shalom said in a statement released by the Confederation of Indian Industry, which organized the meeting that was closed to the press.
He said trade needs to be improved in pharmaceuticals, defense, biotechnology and health care.
“Trade between India and Israel has gone up from $200 million to $1.5 billion in the last five years,” he said. “But India and Israel have not explored (their) full trade potential.”
After the September visit of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Shalom is the highest-ranking Israeli politician to visit India.
Shalom’s talks with Indian leaders are expected to focus on further strengthening of strategic relationship between the two countries.
India and Israel are keen on consolidating their ongoing diplomatic, economic and security cooperation. They are also interested in boosting trade, Indian government sources said.
Earlier this year, Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry Arun Jaitley visited Israel to participate in the 3rd Session of Bilateral Trade and Economic Committee.
A new momentum has been added to Shalom’s visit by Sharon giving the nod for Israeli participation in India’s moon mission — Chandrayaan I. In Jerusalem, spokesperson for the Ministry of Science and Technology, Michal Ogolnik, told the Indian news agency PTI: “The prime minister has expressed keen interest in the mission giving his go-ahead. He has asked the ministry to provide him with further details, exploring the possible areas of cooperation, appreciating India’s initiative and its recent successes in this field.”
