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Indo-Israel trade set to grow: Peres

George Iype in Hyderabad

Hyderabad so charmed former prime minister of Israel and now the country's minister for regional co-operation Shimon Peres that the Nobel laureate, during his first-ever visit to the city, exclaimed: "I am in love with Hyderabad! Israeli youngsters are in love with India! What did in Hyderabad hold Peres spellbound? No, it is not the specially lit-up Hussain Sagar Lake or the Charminar that charmed the former Israeli premier. It is the information technology revolution sweeping through the city that has fascinated Peres.

"I am fascinated by Hyderabad and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. India has changed a lot in the last few years. It is a great place to be in," Peres said.

The outstanding world statesman, attending the Partnership Summit in Hyderabad, said that India and Israel have entered into "in a new bond" because there is tremendous transformation taking place in the world's largest democracy.

"We are proud that we have a great relationship with India. It is not just the trade ties alone. I have read The Suitable Boy. So from Suitable Boys to suitable technologies, let us co-operate," Peres said.

The former Israeli prime minister said the pace and depth of India's culture and democracy offer great lessons to nations all over the world.

Speaking about globalisation and regionalism, Peres said: "Globalisation is a consequence of the fact that economy became global and governments remained national."

"Globalisation is here to stay and humanity is moving from economy of the land to the economy of the brain," he said.

But, he said, one of the fall-outs of globalisation is speed. "Money is changing hands at a great speed. Every day a trillion-and-a-half dollars change hands. So in this world of changing money, we have to really look how our lives are being run," he said.

The modern world, according to Peres, is divided into the connected and the disconnected. "The connected world is achieving tremendous progress. But the disconnected world is condemned to live in poverty. It is therefore imperative that people help each other," the former Israeli premier remarked.

He said the bilateral trade between India and Israel in the year 2000 maintained the momentum of growth with a volume of $827 million. "We do hope the business between India and Israel will touch $1 billion this year," he said.

Peres said that as minister for regional co-operation, his main task is to ensure fruition of joint ventures between India and Israeli companies.

Already Indian and Israeli companies have formed several joint ventures in the sectors of agriculture, telecommunications, software and media equipment.

For instance, Israel's famous drip irrigation systems are jointly manufactured in three different locations in India. In telecommunications, there have been joint production of high-speed modems, voice mail systems and fibre optic between Indian and Israeli companies.

Technology transfer co-operation between the two countries has also kept pace with increasing trade volumes with over 150 agreements for either production or distribution of diversified products in India.

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