Israeli Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat is looking to strengthen ties with India in crucial sectors such as IT manpower and desert tech. Despite the current focus not being on the free trade agreement (FTA), Israeli companies are being encouraged to set up offices in India and develop joint ventures with the “Make in India” initiative. Barkat sees India as a potential development partner that can help Israel in expanding its technology in the next 20 years. The priorities in his meeting with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal were to explore business development and engagement between the two countries in sectors such as desert tech, agro-tech, food tech, and energy. Israel is also interested in boosting cooperation with India in security and sharing knowledge in the areas of hydroponics, water management, and agriculture. This article aims to explore the potential areas of cooperation between Israel and India and how they can work together to benefit each other.
Encouraging Israeli Companies to Set Up Office in India
Israeli Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat emphasized that India is well on its way to becoming the third-largest economy, and Israel aims to encourage more Israeli companies to set up offices in India and develop joint ventures. This will help them align interests with the “Make in India” initiative, which makes a lot of sense. It's about how to synchronize the effort and engage Israeli companies in the Indian marketplace. While the focus is not on pushing ahead with the FTA, business development between the two countries is of much greater importance.
Exploring Cooperation in Crucial Sectors
India and Israel are discussing how they can work together to increase cooperation in crucial sectors such as skilled IT manpower and desert tech. Israel plans to increase the number of hi-tech employees from 10% to 25% in the next 20 years. They see India as a potential development partner to achieve this. The focus will be on the business-to-business (B2B) side, including areas like desert tech, agro-tech, food tech, creating food from the sea, water management, energy, health, and IT. Israel is looking to boost cooperation with India in security, and they feel comfortable sharing their security secrets with India.
Potential Priority Areas
Security is a significant area of potential cooperation between Israel and India. Israel feels comfortable sharing their security secrets with India because they trust the Indian government and people. Barkat also identified desert tech as a crucial area of cooperation, which includes how to grow better food and provide better water and energy. Israel is developing startups that are improving the yield in agriculture, with examples like hydroponics. The southern part of Israel is a desert, and they have a huge number of entrepreneurs. Barkat believes that India, being 150 times larger than Israel, is a classic development partner, and developing business models that are scalable for the rest of the world can be a classic win-win situation for both countries.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the article emphasizes the potential for cooperation between India and Israel in various sectors. While the focus may not be on pushing ahead with the FTA, business development between the two countries is of much greater importance. Israel aims to encourage more Israeli companies to set up offices in India and develop joint ventures. The focus will be on the business-to-business side, including areas like desert tech, agro-tech, food tech, creating food from the sea, water management, energy, health, and IT. Israel is looking to boost cooperation with India in security and feels comfortable sharing their security secrets with India. Overall, India and Israel can work together to benefit each other and the rest of the world.
