World Affairs Board - View Single Post - Israel and India

bigross86 · 08-29-2003, 07:08 AM

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1062042212493

Aug. 28, 2003
Israel and India - comrades in arms?
By HERB KEINON

Terrorist attacks like those that rocked Jerusalem and Bombay recently create "natural sympathy" between India and Israel, but are not the cement binding the countries together, India's Ambassador Raminder Singh Jassal told The Jerusalem Post.

In an interview prior to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's five-day trip to India on September 7, Jassal said he does not want to use "a negative" to explain the reason ties between the two countries have flowered so dramatically over the last decade.

"What brings the counties together are many other factors, such as the flourishing trade and economic ties, our cooperation in science and technology, the people-to-people relationships, the number of tourists visiting," Jassal said from his office with a commanding sea-view in the new Indian Embassy building on Tel Aviv's Rehov Hayarkon.

India moved to the five-story building from smaller two-floor quarters rented in a Tel Aviv office building in January a sign itself of the scope of the ties. The embassy is down the street from the US, British, and Turkish embassies.
Terrorism, Jassal said, is an international problem, not only one facing the two countries.

That Israel and India both suffer terrorism, he said, is not what has brought the countries closer, but "It just reinforces the fact we need to work together to combat this problem."

Highly dependent on Arab oil, and with a Muslim minority that numbers an estimated 140 million out of the country's more than 1 billion people, Indian officials are traditionally reticent about emphasizing anything other than the economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

Asked if India's dependence on Arab oil may put a brake on ties with Israel, Jassal says that "India's relations with Israel and Arab countries is not a zero-sum game, where one is at the cost of the other, or impinges on the other."

As to whether the remote possibility that Israel and Pakistan will establish ties, an idea floated recently by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf after he received a $3b. military and aid package from Washington, Jassal said, "This is a hypothetical situation. Israel-India relations are based on very strong foundations and a mutuality of interests. I don't think we should link it with relations with third countries."

These strong foundations also transcend Indian party lines, Jassal said, dismissing the possibility that if the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is defeated by the Congress Party in next year's elections, then the India-Israel relationship will take a turn for the worse.

Jassal said the Congress Party established formal ties with Israel in 1992, and that the relationship has "developed steadily" since then. Just as Israel's relationship with India has not changed despite Labor-Likud power changes, Jassal said, India's relations with Israel do not depend on which party is in power in Delhi.

Even today, Indian officials do not want to admit what many Israeli diplomatic officials argue: that Israel and India are facing a strikingly similar enemy, and that there are many parallels in the two conflicts.

When discussing these parallels, such as a democratic country facing a militant dictatorship that hosts terrorist organizations sent across the border to kill civilians, Jassal opted to focus on other similarities.

"I look at the similarities in another manner," he said. "Both countries emerged as independent countries around same time, 1947 and 1948, and the leadership of both countries had a vision to build society in a particular way. Both [Jawaharlal] Nehru and [David] Ben-Gurion paid much attention to nation building, to democracy, to investing in human resource development, to setting up a scientific and industrial infrastructure, to strengthening the institutions of democracy."

These are the values Jassal likes to focus on, values that explain why the ties between the two countries took off so quickly after the exchange of ambassadors in 1992. There was, he said, "already fertile ground making people feel very comfortable dealing with each other."

The ground has proven fertile indeed. From some $200 million in trade when the Congress Party decided to restore ties with Israel in 1992, that number now stands at $1.3 billion a figure that excludes services, tourism, and military trade. Jassal said the figures for 2003 are expected to be some 25 percent higher.

Military trade is a booming business, with some reports saying Israel is now India's second largest arms supplier after Russia. The US recently gave the nod for Israel to sell three Phalcon AWACS systems in a deal itself worth more than $1b.

Likewise, India has expressed interest in buying the Arrow anti-missile defense system, a deal that would also need US permission. Israel has already sold India the Green Pine radar system that was developed for the Arrow anti-ballistic missile batteries, and they have been put into use to monitor the Pakistani border.

Jassal declines all inquires about defense ties, saying, "We don't comment on defense projects with any country."

The ambassador said India's interest in developing close strategic ties with Israel stems first and foremost from economic ties, and because India which has an interest in developing close ties with as many countries as possible views Israel as being in its "immediate neighborhood."

He said trade and commerce and technical and scientific collaboration are the "building blocks of relations." For this reason, Sharon will be accompanied on his visit, the first by an Israeli prime minister to India, by three ministers Justice Minister Yosef Lapid, Education Minister Limor Livnat, and Agricultural Minister Yisrael Katz and a delegation of some 30 leading business figures.

The business delegation will include not only directors of telecommunication, agricultural, pharmaceutical, and venture-capital companies, but also the heads of Rafael, Israel Aircraft Industries, and TAAS-Israel Industries.

08-29-2003, 07:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
bigross86 401 Ikvot Habarzel *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-07-03 Location: Ra'anana, Israel Posts: 3,148	Israel and India - comrades in arms? http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1062042212493 Aug. 28, 2003 Israel and India - comrades in arms? By HERB KEINON Terrorist attacks like those that rocked Jerusalem and Bombay recently create "natural sympathy" between India and Israel, but are not the cement binding the countries together, India's Ambassador Raminder Singh Jassal told The Jerusalem Post. In an interview prior to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's five-day trip to India on September 7, Jassal said he does not want to use "a negative" to explain the reason ties between the two countries have flowered so dramatically over the last decade. "What brings the counties together are many other factors, such as the flourishing trade and economic ties, our cooperation in science and technology, the people-to-people relationships, the number of tourists visiting," Jassal said from his office with a commanding sea-view in the new Indian Embassy building on Tel Aviv's Rehov Hayarkon. India moved to the five-story building from smaller two-floor quarters rented in a Tel Aviv office building in January a sign itself of the scope of the ties. The embassy is down the street from the US, British, and Turkish embassies. Terrorism, Jassal said, is an international problem, not only one facing the two countries. That Israel and India both suffer terrorism, he said, is not what has brought the countries closer, but "It just reinforces the fact we need to work together to combat this problem." Highly dependent on Arab oil, and with a Muslim minority that numbers an estimated 140 million out of the country's more than 1 billion people, Indian officials are traditionally reticent about emphasizing anything other than the economic and cultural ties between the two countries. Asked if India's dependence on Arab oil may put a brake on ties with Israel, Jassal says that "India's relations with Israel and Arab countries is not a zero-sum game, where one is at the cost of the other, or impinges on the other." As to whether the remote possibility that Israel and Pakistan will establish ties, an idea floated recently by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf after he received a $3b. military and aid package from Washington, Jassal said, "This is a hypothetical situation. Israel-India relations are based on very strong foundations and a mutuality of interests. I don't think we should link it with relations with third countries." These strong foundations also transcend Indian party lines, Jassal said, dismissing the possibility that if the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is defeated by the Congress Party in next year's elections, then the India-Israel relationship will take a turn for the worse. Jassal said the Congress Party established formal ties with Israel in 1992, and that the relationship has "developed steadily" since then. Just as Israel's relationship with India has not changed despite Labor-Likud power changes, Jassal said, India's relations with Israel do not depend on which party is in power in Delhi. Even today, Indian officials do not want to admit what many Israeli diplomatic officials argue: that Israel and India are facing a strikingly similar enemy, and that there are many parallels in the two conflicts. When discussing these parallels, such as a democratic country facing a militant dictatorship that hosts terrorist organizations sent across the border to kill civilians, Jassal opted to focus on other similarities. "I look at the similarities in another manner," he said. "Both countries emerged as independent countries around same time, 1947 and 1948, and the leadership of both countries had a vision to build society in a particular way. Both [Jawaharlal] Nehru and [David] Ben-Gurion paid much attention to nation building, to democracy, to investing in human resource development, to setting up a scientific and industrial infrastructure, to strengthening the institutions of democracy." These are the values Jassal likes to focus on, values that explain why the ties between the two countries took off so quickly after the exchange of ambassadors in 1992. There was, he said, "already fertile ground making people feel very comfortable dealing with each other." The ground has proven fertile indeed. From some $200 million in trade when the Congress Party decided to restore ties with Israel in 1992, that number now stands at $1.3 billion a figure that excludes services, tourism, and military trade. Jassal said the figures for 2003 are expected to be some 25 percent higher. Military trade is a booming business, with some reports saying Israel is now India's second largest arms supplier after Russia. The US recently gave the nod for Israel to sell three Phalcon AWACS systems in a deal itself worth more than $1b. Likewise, India has expressed interest in buying the Arrow anti-missile defense system, a deal that would also need US permission. Israel has already sold India the Green Pine radar system that was developed for the Arrow anti-ballistic missile batteries, and they have been put into use to monitor the Pakistani border. Jassal declines all inquires about defense ties, saying, "We don't comment on defense projects with any country." The ambassador said India's interest in developing close strategic ties with Israel stems first and foremost from economic ties, and because India which has an interest in developing close ties with as many countries as possible views Israel as being in its "immediate neighborhood." He said trade and commerce and technical and scientific collaboration are the "building blocks of relations." For this reason, Sharon will be accompanied on his visit, the first by an Israeli prime minister to India, by three ministers Justice Minister Yosef Lapid, Education Minister Limor Livnat, and Agricultural Minister Yisrael Katz and a delegation of some 30 leading business figures. The business delegation will include not only directors of telecommunication, agricultural, pharmaceutical, and venture-capital companies, but also the heads of Rafael, Israel Aircraft Industries, and TAAS-Israel Industries. __________________ You're a naughty girl, go to my room!