TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take 130businessmen with him to India next week for trade talks which will alsocover defence sales, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday.
Foreign ministry deputy director general for Asia, Gilad Cohen, said thesix-day trip starting Sunday was meant to further deepen political, tradeand cultural ties.
India’s defence ministry announced last week that it would buy 131surface-to-air missiles from Israel.
The Barak missiles made by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems are to be usedfor India’s first aircraft carrier which is under construction.
But at the same time, Rafael said India had cancelled a separate$500-million deal to purchase Spike anti-tank guided missiles.
“Rafael has received an official statement from the Indian ministry ofdefence on the cancellation of the Spike missile deal,” the company toldthe Jerusalem Post newspaper last week.
The Post said Rafael executives would be in the trade delegationaccompanying Netanyahu.
Cohen declined to answer questions on the subject in his briefing tojournalists in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
“The prime minister will be talking (to his hosts) on the whole range ofissues which make up relations between Israel and India: water,agriculture, energy, culture, innovation, also defence,” he said.
“I do not want to elaborate on defence issues.”
Israel is a major weapons supplier to India, selling it an average of $1billion of military equipment each year.
In April last year the two countries signed a military deal worth nearly $2billion which includes the supply over several years of medium-rangesurface-to-air missiles, launchers and communications technology.
Netanyahu’s India trip comes after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’svisit to Israel in July, the first ever by an Indian premier.
A media highlight of that visit was a barefoot stroll though the surftogether at an Israeli beach, where Modi got a demonstration of a mobilewater desalination unit mounted on a dune buggy.
Cohen said Netanyahu would present one to Modi during his visit next week.
Hooray for Bollywood
One of Netanyahu’s stops on the trip, the first by an Israeli premier sinceAriel Sharon in 2003, will be in Mumbai where he will meet on January 18with stars and executives of India’s mammoth film industry.
Bollywood “mega-celebs wield tremendous influence around the world,” Cohensaid.
Israel wants the Indian movie industry to shoot a film in the Jewish state,he added.
“You can imagine the effect that would have on our tourism, on Israel’sexposure.”
The visit begins in New Delhi where Netanyahu will have dinner with Modiand meet Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.
The following day he will call on President Ram Nath Kovind then have moretalks with Modi.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu will visit the Taj Mahal and then attend India’sannual “Raisina Dialogue” geo-political conference.
January 17 sees him joining Modi on a visit to the Indian leader’s homestate of Gujarat.
“It’s no secret that the two leaders enjoy very clear chemistry, good andintimate relations,” Cohen said.
In addition to the Bollywood event, January 18 sees Netanyahu hosting abusiness seminar then attending a memorial ceremony for Jewish victims ofthe 2008 Mumbai attacks.
In one of several incidents, militants stormed a Jewish hostel and culturalcentre in the city, killing a rabbi and his pregnant wife and four others.
They were among at least 195 dead and 295 wounded in a 60-hour siege ofmultiple targets, including luxury hotels and a railway station.