New Delhi (NVI): India and Israel today held the sixteenth round of Foreign Office Consultations via video conference in which the two sides reviewed the progress in ongoing cooperation in the strategic fields of defence and security, counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, etc.
While the Indian side was led by Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary (CPV & OIA), the Israeli side was led by Alon Ushpiz, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.
During the consultations, both sides also held discussions in other important areas of water and agriculture, science & technology, innovation and start-ups, energy, academic collaboration, furthering trade and mutual investments, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
The success stories of the jointly developed Centres of Excellence in Agriculture, pilot project on water conservation in Bundelkhand region, and close collaboration between the Ahmedabad-based International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology (iCreate) and Israel’s Start-Up Nations Central (SNC) to provide incubation support for co-development of niche technologies came up for particular praise, MEA said.
Apart from that, both sides noted the helpful role of the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) and the University Grants Commission (UGC)-Israel Science Foundation (ISF) Fund in facilitating joint academic and scientific research work.
In addition to this, there was a discussion on respective national approaches to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing collaboration in medical and testing tools research.
The two sides also had an in-depth exchange of views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, MEA said.
They agreed on the importance of continuing the upward momentum in the relationship through exchange of regular visits and consultations, and agreed to hold the next round of Foreign Office Consultations at a mutually convenient date.
-ARK
