The visiting Prime Minister of Israel Mr. Ariel Sharon paying homage at the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in Delhi on September 9, 2003 (Tuesday).
Indo-Israeli co-operation in agriculture
NEW DELHI - India and Israel have decided to work on a Memorandum of Understanding to increase cooperation in various fields of agriculture. The decision was taken at a meeting between Agriculture Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh and the visiting Israeli Agriculture Minister, Shri Yisrael Katz here today. The two countries will also set up a joint committee of officers which will meet frequently for discussion on various agricultural issues. Both the sides showed keen interest in increasing cooperation in the fields of horticulture, floriculture and aquaculture. The need to exchange the latest technologies in these fields was emphasized at the talks.
Shri Rajnath Singh expressed the desire to learn from the Israeli experience in water management. He pointed out that Israel has developed a number of drought assistance varieties of crops and India can benefit from this experience. Fodder development is another area in which the Indian side showed keen interest to collaborate with Israel. The Israeli Agriculture Minister said that the agricultural relations between the two countries have a lot of potential. The exchange of experts between the two countries has been proceeding on a large scale and both the countries have benefited from this. Pointing out that Israel is also a largely semi-arid country and has many characteristics common with India, Shri Yisrael Katz said that the two countries can collaborate on a number of projects.- keralamonitor.com
Meanwhile, India and Israel vowed to cooperate in the fight against global terrorism. New Delhi emphasised the need for lasting peace in West Asia. The matter was discussed when External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha called on visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon here this afternoon. At the 75-minute meeting, the two countries also deliberated on the West Asia Peace Process. Bilateral issues, including economic cooperation and commercial trade, was also discussed. The two leaders also reviewed the innovative strategies to be followed like Research and Development in commercial fields, joint ventures in agriculture, including in third countries, and intensification of people-to-people contacts.
The two sides also discussed possibilities of cooperation in space and science and technology. Increasing realisation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India also figured at the meeting between Mr Sinha and the Israeli Premier. The Israeli leader briefed Mr Sinha on their training programmes in high-tech. Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra also called on the visiting dignitary. The two leaders will also sign six agreements for cooperation in various sectors. Earlier, New Delhi emphasised the need for lasting peace in West Asia as the Israeli Prime Minister, terming India as ''one of the most important democracies,'' called for intensification of relations between the two countries.
