From Harinder Mishra
Jerusalem

The future of Indo-Israel ties is “limitless”, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said as President Pranab Mukherjee wound up his 3-day state visit to the Jewish state today.

Netanyahu, who hosted a lunch for Mukherjee before his departure for Delhi, described the President’s visit as a “momentous occasion” signifying strengthening ties between the two countries which have translated into several partnerships across wide ranging fields and some of those endeavours are also coming through.

“India has demonstrated that a democracy, contrary to common perception, can accommodate very large population and diversity in a better way than through domination and suppression,” the Israeli Premier said at a state banquet earlier hosted by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

Talking about the acceptance enjoyed by India in Israel, the Prime Minster said that while his country has several parties and ideological disputes, they all love India and there is no dispute on that.

Seeking partnership in new initiatives, Netanyahu said that the “future belongs to those who innovate”.

“The future belongs to those who innovate rapidly and only they can ensure future prosperity to their people. If we work together and we can combine our strengths, we will be able to position better in the global market,” the Israeli Premier said.

Describing relations and partnerships with India as a strong focus of his government, Netanyahu hinted towards focussing on the Asian market.

“While we appreciate the West, we admire Asia. When we look East, we look towards India”, he said.

Israel has been investing a lot of energy and funds to boost its exports in India and China, a policy the government here thinks has paid off in the face of recent global recession.

The Israeli Prime Minister has also invited India to send its experts to join hands in a cyber security centre Israel is opening, an area that has received a lot of attention in both the countries.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu tried to emphasise on several occasions his closeness to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he addressed as “my friend Modi”.

“I talk to my friend Modi often. When we met the last time, he told me that ‘India needs Israel’,” the Israeli Premier told the Knesset yesterday minutes after Mukherjee addressed a special plenary session.

He told the house that Modi is seeking a revolution in areas such as dairy, agriculture, solar energy and water – which also corresponds to the four colours in the national flags of the two countries — white, green, saffron and blue.

PTI