World News | ‘Jewish Trail’ to be inaugurated during Israeli FM’s visit to India next week as several MoUs signed

JERUSALEM, May 5 (PTI) — India and Israel are expected to sign several MoUs next week to boost bilateral trade, focusing on agritech, energy, tourism and healthcare, during Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s visit to New Delhi, Israel said a senior trade body official.

Cohen will be on a three-day visit to India from May 9-11, where he will also open a “Jewish Way” in Mumbai.

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A business delegation of 25 intersectoral companies will accompany the Israeli foreign minister on the trip, and members of key economic organizations participating will join the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Anat Bernstein-Reich, president of the Israel-Asian Chamber of Commerce, told PTI.

The Israel Asia Chamber of Commerce, the Israel Manufacturers Association (IMA) and the Israel Export Institute will all sign MoUs with CII.

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“The growing trade relationship between Israel and India requires increased cooperation between economic organizations on both sides. The CII has been a close friend of our Chamber and we plan to host several delegations from them in the near future. As part of the I2U2 program, we Hosted CII delegations from the UAE and India. We are planning an I2U2 event in India soon”, says Bernstein-Reich.

From a modest $200 million in bilateral trade (mainly diamonds) in 1992 when the two countries established full diplomatic relations, merchandise trade has diversified to reach $7.86 billion (excluding defense) in 2021-22.

In addition, bilateral service trade in 2021 is $1.1 billion, and bilateral merchandise trade in fiscal year 2022-23 from April 2022 to December 2022 is $8.09 billion (excluding defence).

I2U2, a quadrilateral alliance of India, Israel, the UAE and the US, was unveiled during Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Israel in October 2021 and has since held numerous meetings, including with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ) meeting with the supreme leaders of the other three relevant countries.

The Quadrangle has demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing the economic interests of the countries concerned by implementing projects related to ensuring food security and strengthening the renewable energy sector.

Bernstein-Reich said that earlier this week, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the India Forum, with the participation of several ministries, with the aim of increasing government coordination and thereby fostering greater cooperation in trade, innovation, tourism and culture.

She also noted that Israel’s foreign minister will inaugurate the “Jewish Way” in Mumbai.

Under this initiative, important Jewish monuments in Mumbai and Maharashtra have been identified and will be open to tourists from all over the world.

Jews have lived in Maharashtra for over 2,000 years and have always prided themselves on the absence of anti-Semitism in India.

About 3,000 Jews still live in Maharashtra, although most of them have immigrated to Israel. Jews from the Maharashtra region known as Bene Israel are the largest Indian Jewish community in Israel.

The approximately 90,000 Indian Jews living in Israel come from four communities – Bene Israel, Cochinis, Baghdadis and Bnei Menashe (from the states of Manipur and Mizoram).

Many Israelis and Jews from around the world travel to Mumbai for work and tourism and have shown interest in visiting their ancestral land.

Given this interest, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and the Israeli Consulate General in Mumbai have been collaborating on a project that could boost tourism in the state.

The idea for the project is based on research work carried out by Professor Saul Sapir of the Hebrew University, who has published a book titled “Mumbai: Exploring the Jewish Urban Heritage”.

With the help of the local Jewish community, the Israeli Consulate General in Mumbai has been installing plaques on Jewish monuments, providing information about their history and significance.

According to a memorandum of understanding, MTDC will prepare multiple travel itineraries, ranging from one to three days, and offer them to tourists in packages including guides, hotels and more.

The Indian embassy in Israel has also been active in establishing an “Indian Footprint” to highlight India’s presence in the region, especially the bravery of Indian soldiers, which has helped shape the region’s history to some extent.

Indian soldiers who liberated Haifa from the Ottoman Empire during World War I have been included in the local school curriculum and their acts of heroism have become part of local legend.

This is the third high-level visit by a senior Israeli official in less than three months, following Knesset (Knesset Speaker) Amir Ohana’s visit to India in late March to early April and Economy Minister Neil Bakhat last year. Months after visiting India.

Israel’s foreign minister will also push for a consular agreement in the making to bring Indian workers to Israel for construction jobs.

The high-level visit is seen as a prelude to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s much-anticipated visit to India later this year.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)