Jerusalem: Terming India as a "close friend", Israel President Reuven Rivlin on Monday arrived in Mumbai on a six-day visit to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries that he said were places of "innovation and inspiration".
Rivlin, who arrived with a large delegation of businessmen and academics, will join President Pranab Mukherjee in opening an agro-tech conference in Chandigarh, hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajand visit several sites of cooperation and joint projects between the two countries.
He will also pay his respects at the sites of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and lay wreaths on the tomb of Mahatma Gandhi and at the memorial for Indian soldiers who fell in the WWI in combat in Israel and the Middle East.
Six Jews had been killed at the Mumbai Chabad house during the Mumbai terror attacks which left more than 166 dead. Rivlin, accompanied on the trip by his wife, will also hold meetings with senior Indian officials and with leaders of the Jewish community.
"I am departing now on an important visit to India, an important ally and close friend of Israel, a state with whom we have much in common," Rivlin said just before leaving for New Delhi yesterday.
"Israel and India are both countries of innovation and of inspiration. Countries that have ancient traditions, but have built strong and thriving hi-tech economies, and now celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations. This visit is a sign of the strong relations and friendship between our peoples, and I hope will plant the seeds for that friendship to grow closer and closer," he said.
The academic delegation accompanying Rivlin includes Presidents and senior representatives of 13 Israeli academic institutions who are expected to sign 15 separate agreements between Israeli and Indian educational institutions.
"The issue of international cooperation in higher education and the expansion of academic ties between Israel and the world - in particular with India - is one of the central aims of the multi-year plan for higher education in Israel," said Yaffa Zilbershats, head the Council for Higher Education's budget committee.
The expansion of academic ties would include student exchanges, joint research projects and the founding of inter-institutional fora to promote academic cooperation between Israeli and India universities and colleges, he noted. Rivlin, in the past, has complimented theIndianstudents in Israel, saying "they are among the best" of the lot.
"India represents a great challenge for Israeli manufacturers and this delegation will afford the opportunity to strengthen cooperation and partnership with their Indian counterparts," said Shraga Brosh, President of Manufacturers Association of Israel, who is heading the business delegation.
"I have no doubt that this will be a fruitful visit and forge long-lasting economic partnerships which will strengthen and help grow the bilateral trade between the countries", Brosh said.
Speculation is rife that Rivlin's visit would pave the way for Modi's visit to Jerusalem, the first by an Indian Prime Minister and is likely to take place next year when the two countries celebrate 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Israel has consistently remained the second largest supplier of defence equipment to India for many years and its "timely" supply of Indian requirements during the Kargil War has earned it the tag of a 'reliable' partner.
The Indo-Israel bilateral trade has also registered a remarkable growth reaching a figure of almost USD 5 billion starting from a humble USD 200 million in 1992.
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