CEOs hope to take bilateral trade to $20 billion in 5 years

NEW DELHI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up a three-day visit to Israel with a meeting with CEOs of various companies who reportedly signed agreements worth about $4.3 billion.

Businessmen attending the first meeting of the “CEO forum” for India-Israel cooperation, which also met Mr. Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, said the focus was on building ties currently overshadowed by one-way defense trade between the countries. A document of “joint intentions” issued by the forum, organized by FICCI, said that it hoped to take current bilateral trade of about $4-5 billion to $20 billion in five years “if untapped potential is fully harnessed.” The document listed the biggest problems as restrictive “laws for investors” in India, and Indian business visas, which are only granted for one year presently. “The real potential is allowing Israeli technology to access the Indian market by manufacturing products for the world,” Shiv Khemka, Vice-Chairman of the Sun Group that partners with hi-tech Israeli companies like Eccopia that produces robotic non-water cleaners for solar panels at a factory in Haryana, and water purifiers told media.

“We’ll share our technology with India & provide clean water for millions. I’m proud of Israel!” Mr. Netanyahu wrote in a tweet, adding to a photo of him and Mr. Modi standing in the shallows that there is “nothing like going to the beach with friends.”

On Wednesday, India and Israel also launched a research and development fund for innovation worth $40 million contributing, $20 million each. While the figure is small, officials say they hope to kickstart the process of helping students to take their inventions to product lines, and that their success would spur more such innovations.

Earlier, Israel supported India in its fight against terrorism. Israel believes that there is no difference between Pakistan based “Lashkar-e-Taiba” and the Hamas group operating in Israel and Palestine, senior officials in Jerusalem said, pointing out that the Israeli government has unequivocally supported India on the issue of terrorism.