Isareli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon has said Isareli companies are keen to replicate the success achieved back home in India in the areas of irrigation, water tech and agriculture sectors.

During his visit to Hyderabad, sharing his perspective on growing Indo-Israeli diplomatic relations, now celebrating 25th anniversary, the Israeli Ambassador said there are a number of areas which Israeli companies are keen to participate in India growth story engaging with local companies or even Government agencies. However, the focus is currently on agriculture, irrigation and water technologies.

Over the years, the Indo-Israeli trade relations have gone up from from about $600 million in 1992 to over $ 6 billion in 2014-15. This number does not include defence engagements. “The trade volumes will gallop if the long pending discussions on the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries concludes,” he said.

“Both the countries know the areas of concern and are seeking to address them. Once sorted out, the FTA will play a major role in consolidating the trade,” he said.

“The issue bogs down to address tariff issues and respective stands on the same. The earlier we manage to to close it, it would add to the trade. It is for the leadership to decide,” he said.

Referring to the defence engagement with India, the ambassador said defence ties cannot be quantified as the relations go beyond numbers and is much deeper than buying and selling.

“Over the years, we have set up 15 centres of excellence in agriculture in the country across six States in the phase I and II and in the Phase III we propose to set up about 25 centres over the next 2-3 years. Of these two are planned to come up in Andhra Pradesh and two in Telangana and one each are on the verge of being commissioned in Kerala and Tamil Nadu,” he explained.

These centres of excellence in agriculture and horticulture demonstrate best practices which can then be replicated in other locations and guide farmers to improve yields.

“We are also in discussions with some States to see how we can work in the areas of water management, drip irrigation and desalination, where Israeli companies have gained considerable expertise,” he said.

Inviting Indian companies to three mega events being hosted in Israel, he said there are a number of small companies with expertise who can collaborate and work with their Indian counterparts.

The conferences are being hosted in the areas of agri, medical and water technologies.

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