Israeli industry must make a passage to India

Haaretz, Israel ^ | Dec 2, 2014 | Moshe Arens

[sukhoi-30mki]

India, the world’s largest democracy, has at present the tenth-largest economy. It will, no doubt, surpass the economies of the European nations in a few years and rank among the world’s four largest economies, together with the United States, China and Japan. It is a friend of the State of Israel.

It shares with Israel the values and ideals of democratic government. Like Israel, it has a substantial Muslim minority among its population. Since its partition in 1947, it has fought three wars with its neighbor, Pakistan, and to this day faces a security threat from that direction. Terrorist acts have been an ongoing problem in India. These challenges are similar in nature to the challenges facing Israel, and make for common ground in the increasingly close relation between India and Israel.

Bharatiya Janata’s sweeping victory in this year’s election is a precursor of further improvements in relations between the two countries. New Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a known friend of Israel, has expressed interest in building closer ties between the two countries.

This development represents a great opportunity for Israel on the diplomatic and economic fronts. Unlike representatives of the European Union in Brussels, who frequently criticize Israel and, now and then, suggest the use of economic sanctions against it, India is not likely to participate in this kind of Israel-bashing. In the economic sphere, the huge Indian market offers unprecedented opportunities for the Israeli economy. Israeli agricultural and water technology has already made its mark in India. This activity will surely increase in the years to come.

It is about a six-hour direct flight from Tel Aviv to Delhi, and one can expect that to become a well-traveled route in both directions in the years to come. India should be a major objective for

[goldstategop]

Shameless plug for the E.M Forster novel of the same title.

[Gen.Blather]

Israel has every piece of military technology the US has but improved. I say this from having worked for an Israeli defense company. I have often thought that US policies and our unpredictability as an ally will push Israel, India and some combination of Asian countries into an alliance where they share technology and conduct joint anti-China and anti-Russian exercises.

Look for the smaller, weaker Asian countries to invest in sea mines and submarines.