Things to know about Modi's Israel visit and the India-Israel bilateral possibilities

India and Israel share a long history of bilateral relations in the field of agriculture, defence and water management. If that is not enough to define the alliance the two countries share, consider this. India is the 10th largest importer of defence and agricultural mechanisms from Israel. However, these are about to strengthen even further after the bilateral possibilities that Modi's visit throw up in the face of agricultural and defence crisis marring the Indian subcontinent. From combating incessant droughts to advancing the defence systems of India, this tour by Modi is expected to culminate into a new dawn for India.

Till date, India is alleged to have downplayed its relations with Israel fearing a domestic fallout that would alienate the country's 170 million Muslims. Modi plays a safe bet here. While he will be visiting Israel, he is likely to skip his trip to Palestine. However, what is more significant about the trip is the fact that Modi would be the first seated PM to visit Israel 

Trade and economy: The  India-Israel partnership stands on three pegs- economic, defence and people to people contacts. After the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992, civilian bilateral trade between the two countries has grown to about $5 billion per year. According to a report by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, the free trade is likely to double up in the near future. 

It is also to be noted that the total defence trade between the two countries is worth over $9 billion dollars. There is further possibility for high-tech cooperation such as in space technology agriculture. However, experts believe that the alliance could be strengthened only by political high level political and strategic engagement is essential to further consolidate India-Israel relations.

Tourism: With significant increase in tourists visiting each of the countries from the other, it is believed that tourism can be a growing aspect of bilateral relationships. Last year, close to 40,000 people visited Israel and India has been a favourite tourist destination among Indians. For instance, in the year 2015, nearly 50,000 tourists had visited India from Israel. 

Defence: Since April this year, India has signed three missile deals worth $2.6 billion with Israel. India is now waiting to buy two Phalcon airborne surveillance radars from Israel at a cost of $1.16 billion. The army is also awaiting for approval to buy 8,356 Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, along with 321 launchers, for nearly $500 million. Modi's target now would be to seek advanced missiles and drones, which will help India in battling militants at the LoC. 

Building high-tech hubs: India and Israel can build along improving areas such as cyber security, telecommunications and hi-tech. Meanwhile, Israel is also hoping that stronger commercial ties will also lead India to vote in favour of Israel in the United Nations, instead of Palestine.  

Sorting differences

What the countries need to work on is the academic sector. The one issue that is considered a hindrance between India and Israeli academics is money. Another area that needs attention is coproduction in order to produce cheaper products and to reduce dependency on third actors. Military exercises should be incorporated into defence cooperation since Israel has a growing interest in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Moreover, the Palestinian issue needs to be addressed to ease the bilateral relations between the two countries. Experts point out that for Israel, the Palestinian issue is not the primary focus and therefore they are not taking India's support for Palestine's unilateral approach. While India may choose to take the UN route, Israel has made it clear that it considers UN as a "morally bankrupt institution". Israel's fight over the Palestinian capital of Jerusalem has got the Indian subcontinent in a fix. Modi's visit to Israel could also fix the differences in the outlook of both the nations. While India seems more in favour of a multi-polar world, Israel is more keen on a uni-polar one.

The only solution to level the differences is bilateral talks. And their point of convergence could be the US as both the countries do not want a weakened US. Both the countries can jointly support lobby groups and educate Americans on issues of concern to both the nations.