New Delhi: India, Israel and the Arab countries can together boost regional connectivity and railway networks in the Gulf region would be carrying Indian shipments to the Israeli port of Haifa in the future, Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said Tuesday.
Hours after arriving here, Cohen, speaking at an India-Israel business forum, also pitched for an early conclusion of the proposed free trade agreement between the two countries.
In his remarks, the Israeli foreign minister talked about how Israel, the Arab countries and India can create connectivity to the West.
“The trade that will come from India will land at an Arab port and from there can be taken by train to Haifa port,” he said while giving an overview of the shape of future connectivity in the West Asian region.
His comments on connectivity in the region came two days after national security advisers of India, the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discussed a major connectivity project.
In January, Israel handed over the strategic port of Haifa to the Adani Group. The Port of Haifa is the second largest port in Israel in terms of shipping containers and the biggest in shipping tourist cruise ships.
Our vision is that Israel, the Gulf Arab countries and India create the gate of the East to the West, Cohen said.
He arrived this morning in New Delhi on a three-day India visit. However, he later announced curtailing the trip in view of the situation relating to Tel Aviv’s military offensive against a militant group in the Gaza Strip.
Cohen and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks covering the entire expanse of the bilateral engagement and exchanging perspectives on Ukraine and Indo-Pacific.
In a tweet, Jaishankar said the two sides Initialed an agreement in the area of mobility.
Cohen also held separate talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Jaishankar described his talks with the Israeli counterpart as “productive”.
“The main pillars of our Strategic Partnership – Agriculture, Water, Defence & Security – are taking our ties forward. New agreements in water & agriculture today underline the potential to do more,” he said.
“Discussed cooperation in high tech, digital & innovation, as also connectivity, mobility tourism, finance, and health. Noted the progress in I2U2 and cooperation in multilateral forums. Exchanged perspectives on our respective regions, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific,” he added.
The I2U2 is a four-nation grouping. It is known as ‘I2U2’ with “I” standing for India and Israel and “U” for the US and UAE.
Jaishakar and Cohen also paid homage at the Haifa Chowk.
“This symbol of our shared history reflects the enduring India-Israel friendship,” Jaishankar said.
On his meeting with Cohen, Singh said a wide range of issues came up for discussion.
PTI