GS2 PYQ 2018 (Mains Answer Writing): India - Israel Relations | UPSC Mains: International Relations PDF Download

“India’s relations with Israel have, of late, acquired a depth and diversity, which cannot be rolled back.” Discuss (UPSC GS2 2018)

India and Israel are two important democracies in South Asia and Middle East, respectively. 26 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, saw little engagement for most part of it. Recent with by the Israeli PM was only second by an Israeli PM which has come after 15 years, one by PM Modi is the first ever by an Indian PM.
But with India de-hyphenating its relations with Israel from Palestine, relations have never been stronger. With greater political will, both nations are finding new areas of cooperation. As the relationship is changing from transactional one to strategic, current Israeli PM describes bilateral relation between the two nations as “marriage made in heaven.”
Diversity in relations: Tradition areas of cooperation 

• Defense: Currently, India is the largest arms buyer from Israel. Last year, India signed the biggest weapons deal in Israeli defence history, which is nearly $2 billion. 
• Trade: Bilateral trade between the two countries has increased from $200 million to more than $4 billion (excluding defence) in 2016-17. But it is still less compared to India’s trade with other nations. To address that, recently, India- Israel CEO forum has been setup. A dedicated web platform called ‘IndiaIsrael Innovation Bridge’ was also launched to promote and fast-track the Israeli investment in India. 
• Tourism: Air India has launched a direct flight from New Delhi to Tel Aviv flying straight over Saudi Arabian airspace. After receiving a good response now Air India is going to increase the frequency of the flights and an Israeli airline Arkia is planning to begin operations between Israel and India too. 
• Agriculture: Multiple Centers of Excellence has been set up in India which has been a main-stay of agricultural cooperation between the two countries by bringing in advanced Israeli practices and technology. Both nations are working on Five Year Joint Work Plan for strategic cooperation in Agriculture and Water 
• Counterterrorism: India-Israel counterterrorism cooperation is quite robust and has been scaled up gradually over the last few years through a joint working group on terrorism. Intelligence-sharing in this realm has been the most important element of this partnership. Also, Israel is helping India improve border management along the India-Pakistan border given Israel’s experience in dealing with cross-border infiltration and terrorism.
  New areas of cooperation 
• Cyber-security: Cybersecurity cooperation is also expanding, with cybersecurity academies being set up in India by an Israeli company, Vital Intelligence Group. 
• Big data: It will be used to improve agriculture cooperation with Israel. 
• Space: India’s Department of Science & Technology and National Technological Innovation Authority of Israel are setting up India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) of 40 million dollars for the next five years. 
• Other areas of cooperation are film production, energy sector, startups and more Depth in relations: Signs of a mature partnership between India and Israel 
• Both nations are working hard to balance its current relationship with India’s historical support to the Palestinian cause. Relations between the two nations did not turn sour with India’s vote at the UN against U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem or with the reported cancellation of the Spike anti-tank guided missile deal. 
• For Israel, Iran is the most significant national security threat. Yet, Israel has not made Indo-Iranian ties central to its engagement with India. Similarly, India has not let Israel-China closeness affect Indo-Israel relations. 
• India and Israel have been having regular exchanges on regional geopolitics in the wider Middle East and thereby understanding each other’s concerns with every development. Thus, although, the breadth and depth of India-Israel ties is no match as of now compared to Sino-Israeli, but it has its own merit and has significantly gained momentum.

Topics covered - Indo-Israeli Relations