Frank view from Israel.Ours not a relationship we should be hiding', says Rivlin
Yesterday BB also agreed to support moves to ban loudspeakers from Mosques.
Frank view from Israel.Ours not a relationship we should be hiding', says Rivlin
Imagine making the world’s largest oil exporter sweat it out, even before you take office. That’s exactly what Donald Trump is doing. The president-elect has said repeatedly that the U.S. needs to block all oil imports from Saudi Arabia.During his campaign Trump vowed to secure U.S. energy independence from “our foes and the oil cartels,” while also creating “complete American energy independence.”However, on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister fired back. Khalid Al-Falih, also the chairman of Aramco, said in an interview that “at his heart President-elect Trump will see the benefits [of Saudi oil imports] and I think the oil industry will also be advising him accordingly that blocking trade in any product is not healthy.”“The U.S. is sort of the flag-bearer for capitalism and free markets,” Al-Falih added. “The U.S. continues to be a very important part of a global industry that is interconnected, that is dealing with a fungible commodity which is crude oil. So having equalization through free trade is very healthy for oil,” he said.The Saudi oil minister added that Saudis are waiting for Trump’s presidency, as his presidential campaign had amounted to “50,000 feet announcements” that may change.Despite the U.S. shale oil boom, which has made it the third largest global crude oil producer, the country still relies heavily on Saudi crude imports. Saudi Arabia is the largest Middle Eastern oil supplier to the U.S. with an 11% market share and has also invested heavily in U.S. downstream assets (refineries) to help lock in that supply. Around 31% of all U.S. oil imports are from OPEC members, while Canadian oil imports have a 41% share.
In the Middle East and in Israel we have always been concerned about security and homeland security,” Rivlin told Indian farmers and business people at the fair. “What India taught us is that the greater challenge in today’s world is food security, and this why we are here today.”Rivlin was greeted at the Chandigarh airport on Sunday by dancers and musicians in colorful costumes as the Israeli flag waved, and signs welcoming him and India’s President Pranab Mukherjee dotted the road his motorcade traveled.“Building a nation means to produce food for all, now and for the next generations to come. Food security is not only about surviving, it’s about freedom,” said Rivlin.When it comes to food, Israel and India can make “magic” together, whether it is the development of a new kind of cherry tomato or the use of solar panels on trucks to keep food cold and fresh, he said.“Together, we can do more to make in India and to make with India. We can make a better future for the next generation,” he said. “Yes, [together] we can bring magic to the world. We are proud to be here and to be your partners.”Rivlin drew both laughter and applause from the audience when he said that, while in the country, he has learned a new word in Hindi, “jugaad,” which means a clever solution born out of trouble.
To know Israel, he said, is to guess “how quickly I fell in love with this word.”“The State of Israel is jugaad. It’s the way we think. The way we invent and the way we work,” he said, explaining that he was the president of a small nation that had suffered for being different and had come together from around the globe to build a home for itself out of nothingMukherjee, meanwhile, spoke about the growth of India’s food production from 50 million tons in 1947 to 270 millions tons in 2016.In addition, he said, the Indian economy is growing at an average rate of 7.6% per year and will soon be a world power.The Indian president also touted the Israeli-Indian partnership in agriculture, including its drip irrigation which, has helped Indian farmers achieve greater productivity per drop of water.Together, the two men then walked through the fair, with Mukherjee helping Rivlin cut the ribbon at an exhibit by the Israeli Embassy highlighting Israeli innovation to increase milk production and breed disease-resistant poultry.Indian diplomats and businesses were not the only ones paying attention to Rivlin at the fair, however.In an interview with Israel Radio two Turkish businessmen told reporter Shimon Aran they would like to meet Rivlin and have him help cut the ribbon on their exhibit, as well.
Aran spoke to the embassy staff at the fair, who immediately arranged a small detour for Rivlin at the end to stop at the Turkish exhibit.Standing next to the two Turkish businessmen, they, together, held up a red ribbon.Israel and Turkey are in the midst of reestablishing full diplomatic ties after a six year freeze over the Mavi Marmara incident.
$400m seems quite high for 10 Heron UAVs. That's $40m a piece.India signs $1.4bn contracts with Israel
NEW DELHI - India quietly signed two contracts worth $1.4bn with Israel Aerospace Industries for the purchase of two additional Phalcon/IL-76 Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) valued at $1 billion and 10 Heron TP unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) during the recent visit of Israeli President Reuven Rivil to India.
The contracts were signed in New Delhi on 16th November in the presence of Brig. Gen. (Retd) Mishel Ben Baruch, Director, SIBAT, Israel Ministry of Defence and Indian defence secretary G Mohan Kumar.
An Indian Air force (IAF) official said the purchase of two AWACS has been pending for the past five years and the deliveries should be made within the next two to three years. “Phalcon AWACS are tremendous force-multipliers and we are having an excellent experience with them,” the official added.
A $400m contract for the purchase of 10 weaponised Heron TP UAVs was also signed with IAI. Deliveries to the IAF are expected to be completed over the next three years.
According to the IAF official, the Indian Heron TPs will have very sophisticated communication & intelligence systems, detection finders, signal parameters and emitter classification and geo-location capabilities, in addition to electronic surveillance measure for long-range automatic detection and identification of emitting targets.
The official added that Indian Heron TPs will be capable of launching guided munitions and lightweight tactical missiles. Currently the three Indian defence forces operate around 60 Heron UAVs but it is not known whether they are weaponised or not. The three Indian defence forces have a joint requirement of over 200 weaponised UAVs in the next 10 years.
IAI has also given a proposal to India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to jointly develop an advanced version of Heron UAV in India. However, the ruling National Democratic Alliance government wants all future UAV requirements to be met through the Make in India initiative. Israeli Searcher Mark 1 & II, Heron and Heop UAVs are currently used by Indian defence forces.
It saysBheeshma wrote:Is that with the weapons?
So $40 million includes weapons, but I hope it also includes spares, logistics and lifetime support.A $400m contract for the purchase of 10 weaponised Heron TP UAVs was also signed with IAI.
It was on page 1 itself.Bhurishravas wrote:Couldnt find India-israel thread. So posting here -
http://www.dailyo.in/politics/india-isr ... 14336.htmlModi deserves credit for ending India's hypocrisy with Israel
It's time Tel Aviv gets the recognition it deserves from New Delhi.
Israel says 'reducing' ties with nations over UN vote
Countries should not be able to "make pilgrimages to Israel to learn about fighting terror, cyber-defence and agricultural technologies, and in the UN do whatever you want," she told army radio.
Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have responded with especially harsh language to Friday's Security Council resolution which passed after the United States abstained from voting.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 209427.cms"Not only will our relations with the nations of the world not be harmed, over time they will only improve because the nations of the world respect strong countries that stand up for themselves and do not respect weak ingratiating countries that bow their heads," he told a conference.
Funnily, no mention of what India did at the vote? couldnt find it from a quick google search tooBhurishravas wrote:Israel says 'reducing' ties with nations over UN voteCountries should not be able to "make pilgrimages to Israel to learn about fighting terror, cyber-defence and agricultural technologies, and in the UN do whatever you want," she told army radio.
Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have responded with especially harsh language to Friday's Security Council resolution which passed after the United States abstained from voting.http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 209427.cms"Not only will our relations with the nations of the world not be harmed, over time they will only improve because the nations of the world respect strong countries that stand up for themselves and do not respect weak ingratiating countries that bow their heads," he told a conference.
India is not currently a member of the UN Security Councilranjan.rao wrote: Funnily, no mention of what India did at the vote? couldnt find it from a quick google search too
Netanyahu inaugurates David's Sling.
Short-range missiles are intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, while David's Sling is in charge of medium-range missiles. Te Arrow 3 defense system protects against long-range missiles. In addition to these newer systems, the Patriot defense batteries, designed to bring down manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, will continue to operate for at least the next five years.
Air India has delayed the launch of its direct flight between New Delhi and Tel Aviv as several countries, including some in West Asia, have denied it overflight permission.
The airline had planned to launch the flight this month in the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel, expected in July. It will be the first visit to Israel by an Indian Prime Minister.
Multiple officials confirmed to BusinessLine that the launch of the direct service has been delayed as the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan, among others, have declined permission for the state-owned carrier to overfly their air space en route to Israel.
Globally, an airline seeks overflight permission from countries on the route so that the aircraft gets smooth hand-holding from air traffic controllers in these countries. However, the strains in relations between Israel and its West Asian neighbours appear to have impeded the launch of Air India’s service.
Flying over West Asia is the shortest route between India and Israel. Air India examined the possibility of operating its Tel Aviv service by flying over Europe, but that plan was dropped as it would have increased the flying time and skewed the economics of the flight.
Owing to similar denial of overflight rights by some states, the Israeli national carrier’s flight from Tel Aviv to Mumbai takes about eight hours, an industry watcher said.
However, Air India officials maintained that the Tel Aviv service had not yet been put in their booking system, which would have allowed travel agents, tour operators and passengers to make bookings.
In March, Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani had been quoted as saying that Air India hoped to start a direct flight between India and Israel in the next few months. He indicated that the launch of the flight would boost tourist traffic between the two countries.
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Nothing shows up.ramana wrote:There is a talk in Stanford on India- Israel relations on 9 May 2017. Please Google Stanford uty website.