‘India-Israel ties no longer just a close friendship’

India and Israel are gearing up to celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations, even as they face new regional and global challenges. Israel’s foreign minister Yair Lapid spoke with TOI about the future direction of this multifaceted relationship: As we approach the 30th anniversary of India-Israel ties, how would you describe the bilateral relationship? As we celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations in 2022, India-Israel ties are reaching new heights. The India-Israel relationship is no longer just a close friendship, but as my good friend minister S Jaishankar has said, our relationship is now truly a multifaceted strategic partnership at the bilateral level including negotiations on a free trade agreement as well as in multilateral fora. In the midst of all this historic progress, we’re eagerly looking forward to celebrating 30 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries this year. The Indo-Pacific is a focal point for Indian strategy and diplomacy. How does Israel approach this concept and do you see a role for Israel in this area? India is one of our major partners in the Indo-Pacific region. This is reflected in both the depth and breadth of our bilateral relationship that continues to benefit both of our peoples. The areas in which our bilateral cooperation focusses 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. medium88527678 The new “Quad west” (for want of an official term) has opened up new possibilities for the four countries involved – how do you want to proceed in this minilateral relationship? In the first meeting between US secretary of state Blinken, minister of external affairs Jaishankar, UAE minister of foreign affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, and myself, I laid out our vision for cooperation. The key word remains synergy. Synergy that will help us to work together on infrastructure, digital infrastructure, transport, ports, trains, maritime security, clean energy: All of the issues that preoccupy us. The four countries represented have a unique set of capabilities, knowledge, and experience, and what we hope to do is make sure all of that translates as quickly as possible into real commerce and real construction around the globe. Staying on the Quad, what would be the areas of cooperation? The primary area identified in our initial meeting was infrastructure – both physical and digital – including transportation and seaports. Our biggest challenge – and our biggest opportunity – will be to move these conversations from between our governments to between businesses, in order to have all hands on deck to work together towards building infrastructure all around the world through cooperation between our four great nations. Can the four countries go beyond the economic into the strategic realm? India wants to be a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region. How can Israel and India work together, both bilaterally and within the Quad? Israel, India, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates are all like-minded countries. Specific to our bilateral relationship with India, as I said before, our bilateral relationship has already transformed into a multifaceted strategic partnership spanning a wide range of areas from defence and trade to hi-tech and agriculture. Top Indian defence officials have spent a lot of time in Israel recently working out cooperation for the next decade. Where are we going? Before I answer this question, as you ask about our defence relationship, let me take this opportunity to once again, send my deepest condolences to the people and the government of India on the loss of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife, and the other 11 military personnel lost in the tragedy in December. Many people in Israel knew him personally, and feel they have lost a dear friend. India and Israel have a close defence relationship. In just the last few months, we’ve seen high-level visits by Indian military leaders to Israel as well as India’s participation in the Blue Flag exercise hosted by the Israeli Air Force. As defence and counterterrorism are global problems, we’re constantly looking for ways to enhance our cooperation and to share our best practices with one another, to the benefit of both countries. Technology is at the heart of our relationship. How do you see India and Israel working on this for the coming decade, and which areas/sectors would you focus on? Israel is the Start-Up Nation, and we have so much to share and to learn through deepening our cooperation with India, another world leader in technology. That’s why Israel has opened a consulate in Bengaluru, the hi-tech capital of India. It’s why Indian students continue to study in Israel. It’s why investments in hi-tech continue to flow between our two countries. The first sector which comes to mind in terms of deepening our cooperation in technology is green energy. Such cooperation can further strengthen India and Israel’s positions as leaders in the global fight against climate change. That’s why I was so excited to be alongside our minister of energy Karine Elharrar when she signed an agreement on the accession of Israel to the International Solar Alliance during Jaishankar’s visit to Israel. The alliance – spearheaded by India – advances global solar energy initiatives which will play a major role in the global fight against climate change. How is Israel dealing with what we call “the China challenge”, given that you have close ties with Beijing? Israel has important interests in the Indo-Pacific, which include overcoming the global pandemic and expanding economic ties. We’re pursuing these goals with many countries in the region. In the case of India, this means our hi-tech cooperation. It means our agriculture and water resources management cooperation. It means increasing trade. And it means investments in developing infrastructure. India and Israel health experts worked together for a while during the pandemic in 2020. What have been the practical results, if any, of that joint exercise? How do you think both countries can take health cooperation forward, and where? Israel and India helped each other throughout the Covid-19 crisis, because this is how true friends and partners behave. We’ve cooperated in research, and we’ve exchanged both assistance and medical equipment. This includes multiple airplanes full of millions of dollars worth of medical equipment Israel sent to our friends in India amidst a wave of coronavirus cases earlier this year. During his visit to Israel in October, Jaishankar and I also reached an agreement for mutual recognition of vaccine certificates. All of this is a demonstration of the deep friendship between our countries, and provides a solid platform upon which we can continue to deepen our cooperation in healthcare and public health to the benefit of both our nations far beyond the pandemic. In a post pandemic world, what are the shared opportunities and challenges that you see for India and Israel? In many regards, I see these questions as one and the same, because I believe it’s the greatest challenges that often present the greatest opportunities. And as I frequently say, in the face of the truly global challenges which the world faces today, the key is cooperation. Nations who cooperate will thrive, while nations who isolate will fall behind. And while our nations share a number of challenges and opportunities on which we can cooperate, one specific global challenge where deepening our cooperation has the opportunity to have a major impact is climate change. Our cooperation in the fight back against climate change may start with our aforementioned work in technology and green energy, which we aim to continue to expand and deepen. But it also extends into issues of water management and agriculture. Israel and India have already established 29 Indo-Israeli Centers of Excellence to help Indian farmers maximise productivity while optimising efficiency in water usage. And the ministry whose capable, dedicated professionals I’m honoured to lead, the ministry of foreign affairs, already has a special envoy – an expert in water resource management – on the ground in India, learning from and working with Indian farmers, government officials, and industry. But this is one area where we can and must do even more together, and a big first step will be building manufacturing capacity in India for Israeli companies whose technology is already making a difference in water management and agriculture. This is precisely the type of cooperation through which India and Israel will help lead the entire world in addressing a truly global challenge like climate change.