Israel Mulls Trilateral Cooperation With India,UAE

Just ahead of signing the historic peace deal with UAE at a White House ceremony on September 15, Israeli officials in Tel Aviv have put forth a proposal for trilateral cooperation among India, Israel and UAE.

India Today quoted Gilad Cohen, Deputy Director-General of the Asia-Pacific Division of Israeli Foreign Ministry as saying, "We are talking to the Indian government about trilateral cooperation in areas such as — agriculture, technology and water. The combination of the three countries can be for the benefit of all three sides."

Commenting on the prospects of having a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, he further said, "We are trying to encourage our partners in Asia Pacific to invest in India and import and export with us. FTA with Korea soon, an advanced stage with China and Vietnam. We hope to have FTA for designated trade agreement with India."

It seems Israel wants to engage with the world with a fresh perspective to its foreign policy after UAE became the first Gulf country to normalize relations with Israel and just the third Arab country after Europe and Jordan.

Israel also shares a good rapport with India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a standalone visit to Israel in July 2017, the first-ever visit of an Indian prime minister.