Statehood with Palestine Issues and Implication - Grand Expo @Hyderabad

India welcomes reconciliation between Palestinian rivals

TNN & Agencies May 7, 2011, 03.43am IST
NEW DELHI: India on Friday welcomed the reconciliation between Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas, paving way for the creation of a joint caretaker Palestinian government ahead of national elections scheduled to be held next year. Israel has described the pact as a setback for peace in West Asia.

 "The Government of India welcomes the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas which ends the differences between the West Bank and Gaza and hopes that this would promote the realization of the aspirations of the Palestinian people, and leads to peace and stability in the region," a Ministry of External Affairs statement said.
 The Palestinian agreement prompted angry reactions from Israel. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Tony Blair in London that "the agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas is a hard blow to the peace process." Blair is the West Asia envoy for the diplomatic quartet of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia.
 "How is it possible to achieve peace with a government, half of which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and even praises the arch-murderer Osama Bin Laden?" Netanyahu asked.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-welcomes-reconciliation-between-Palestinian-rivals/articleshow/8183088.cms

India, Israel planning to create $50 mn agriculture fund

May 2, 2011, 11.26pm IST
NEW DELHI: India and Israel are in talks to create a fund worth $50 million for mutual cooperation in the agriculture sector.

Both the governments are planning to create a fund dedicated to agricultural co-operation with each side contributing $25 million each, Israel Agriculture Minister Orit Noked said here today.
The minister was speaking at an interactive session on Indo-Israel Cooperation in Agriculture and Food Processing organised by the industry chamber CII.

India is a huge market and has a great potential in the agriculture sector, while Israel has strengths in the areas of research and development, irrigation technology, dairy and biotechnology, Noked said.

There is a scope for both the countries to collaborate in this area and learn from each others expertise, she added.
Israeli Ambassador Mark Sofer said, "The key areas for co-operation are management of water resources through efficient irrigation technology, agro technology, post-harvest know-how to minimise wastages and dairy development through breed improvement."
Last month, Haryana and Israel had formed a joint working group to promote agricultural co-operation between the two nations.
Under this, Israel would train Haryana's agricultural development officers and the state would emulate Israel's model of building reservoirs for rain water harvesting.
During 2009-10, the bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $3.8 billion.
India's major exports to Israel include precious stones, metals, chemical products, textile and textile articles, while imports comprise chemical and mineral products, base metals, machinery and transport equipment.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-05-02/news/29496287_1_agricultural-co-operation-agriculture-sector-dairy

Organize agro-tech fair in Guj: CM to Israel

May 4, 2011, 11.45pm IST
AHMEDABAD: Chief minister Narendra Modi told visiting Israel consul general Orna Sagiv on Wednesday that farmers in Gujarat were eager to adapt new technology in farming. "If business houses of Israel involved with agriculture arrange an agro fair in Gujarat, the state government will give full support to them," Modi said.

"Partnerships in developing human resources in the area of agricultural technology, water, power and safety were discussed," a press release issued here said. Earlier, Sagiv told TOI that Israel has for the first time launched a specific travel campaign targeting Indians when 40,000 people from India have reportedly visited Israel in 2010, the highest in Asia.
"We realize that Gujaratis constitute a big per cent of outbound tourists from India. More Gujaratis should visit Israel. We also have a range of vegetarian food, including those for Jains, as Israeli cuisine is an amalgamation of food from over 75 countries," Sagiv said, during her visit to the city on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the consul general said that Gujarat will soon see a number of Israeli companies establishing businesses in Gujarat, majorly in the areas of water treatment, agriculture and ports. A number of companies had expressed interest during the Vibrant Gujarat summit. "Nearly 75 per cent water in Israel is recycled, the highest in the world. Next comes Spain which recycles 17 per cent of water used," Sagiv said.



Organize agro-tech fair in Guj: CM to Israel

Israel formulates programme to boost exports to India, China

PTI, Mar 9, 2011, 02.58am IST
JERUSALEM: Israel has formulated a three-year programme with a budget of 100 million shekels (approx USD 26 million) to boost its exports to target destinations, India and China.
A joint committee of the Finance and Industry Ministries formulated the programme at the instructions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had asked to examine ways to increase exports to the two Asian giants, Israel National News reported today.
The committee is headed by the Director General of Israel's Finance Ministry, Haim Shani. "The plan presented today is the first component of a series of measures to support increasing trade with China and India and is coming out of a strategic economic grasp of their place in the global economic map.
"Future steps will emphasise the relative advantages of Israel, in innovation, higher education and entrepreneurship," Shani told the news portal.
The programme aims to increase the number of Israeli exporters operating in markets in India and China, to diversify the composition of Israel's exports and to generate sustainable growth avenues that will strengthen the Israeli industry and increase its resilience in the face of the challenges it faces in coming years.
Israel's Foreign Trade Policy describes China and India's as target countries for trade due to their rapid economic growth, which poses great opportunities for the Israeli economy and constitutes an enormous potential for its companies.
The Israeli Ministry of Industry, Labour and Trade is said to have conducted comprehensive consultations with representatives from the industries in recent months to build the programme. It has been designed for SMEs who have proven excellence and innovation in their fields of activity.
India has leaped to become Israel's second largest export destination, only next to close ally the United States. As per the figures provided by Israel's Export and International Cooperation Institute, India jumped from the eighth position to second as the favoured destination for Israeli exports in the first half of 2010.
Israeli exports to India in the first half of last year equalled USD 990 million, an increase of 102 per cent compared to the year before.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-03-09/news/28672460_1_second-largest-export-destination-foreign-trade-policy-india-and-china

Israel has started giving prominence to promoting tourism in India

February 2011

Windows to the world

Israel

The India connection:
Israel Tourism still does not have an exclusive office in India but in the recent years Israel has started giving prominence to promoting tourism in India.

Success so far
Earlier few thousand tourists used to visit Israel annually, mostly for religious reasons (pilgrimage). Over the years Israel has emerged as a vibrant tourist destination famous for diverse sites and scenery, food, fashion and eco-tourism. The number of Indian tourists visiting Israel has touched 40,000 per annum. Business and agro-tourism has been growing significantly as well.

Key campaigns and promotions
A senior delegation of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism visited India last year and met leading tour operators. As part of the tourism promotion campaign Israel plans to participate in important tourism exhibitions including MTDC Tourism Expo in February 2011. In the last few years several Indian delegations of lifestyle journalists, fashion photographers and tour operators were taken to Israel. Beautiful coverage from them is helping us to promote Israel as a tourist destination .

Primary target market
We wish to have visits to Israel by people who are experienced travellers and are now looking for a new, exciting, exotic destination. Israel has lots to offer to everyone from snowy mountain peaks to camel rides in the desert, scuba diving and surfing in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to enjoying spas of the Dead Sea. Places like Jerusalem or Nazareth attract people of all religions. It also has very modern and lively cities like Tel Aviv or Haifa. Israel has lots of history and archeology, and at the same time very modern shopping centers, art and craft markets and much more.

Strategy for 2011
Our strategy is to increase this awareness further by participating in travel events in India, taking more delegation of journalists and tour operators, run a tourism promotion campaign through web and social networking sites. 

http://www.expresstravelworld.com/201102/management40.shtml 

Vegetables centre comes up in Haryana with Israeli help

2011-01-17 23:10:00

Chandigarh, Jan 17 (IANS) Aiming to give a boost to agriculture in Haryana, a centre of excellence for vegetables has come up at Gharaunda town in the state's Karnal district, with support and expertise of Israel.

This centre was inaugurated by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar Monday.

This centre, which is part of the India-Israel bilateral agreement on agricultural cooperation that was signed in 2006, has been set up at a cost of Rs.6 crore.

'Besides this centre of excellence for vegetables, another centre of excellence for fruits is being set up at village Mangyana in Sirsa district at a budget of Rs.9.7 crore. Haryana farmers have the capacity to meet the growing demand of vegetables and fruits of Delhi market,' Pawar said on the occasion.

'The two projects would empower the farmers with modern technology to increase the yield. It would also help them in ameliorating their economic status,' added Pawar.

Pawar said that a third centre of excellence for flower, with Israeli support, will be established at Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar in the coming months.

Israeli Ambassador to India Mark Sofer also attended the inauguration ceremony.

'This excellence centre set up in Haryana would serve as model for farmers from throughout the region. I must stress that this is not the end of the story. Work is going on towards the establishment of more such excellence centres and the sky is the limit,' said Sofer.


http://www.sify.com/news/vegetables-centre-comes-up-in-haryana-with-israeli-help-news-national-lbrxkoeicda.html

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/demandsupply-gap-behind-rising-prices-says-pawar/738850/ 

India plans use of Israeli spy sats for coastal surveillance

http://www.siasatepaper.com/SS/SS/2011/01/17/ArticleHtmls/17_01_2011_001_017.shtml?Mode=1

Published: Sunday, Jan 16, 2011, 16:35 IST
Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI  
Aiming to enhance surveillance capabilities along the coastline, India is planning to use Israeli spy satellites to keep an eye over its maritime boundary with Pakistan.
Under the plan, New Delhi is looking to use the spy satellite coverage over the maritime region off the coast of Gujarat near Kutch, the region which was used by the terrorists involved in the 26/11 terror attacks to enter India through the sea route, sources said.
A discussion in this regard between the two sides was held recently during the visit of a high-level Indian defence delegation to Israel, they added.
After the 2008 Mumbai attacks, cooperation between India and Israel in anti-terrorism efforts has been on the rise and New Delhi is taking Tel Aviv's help in securing its maritime and land borders with Pakistan.
Once in place, the planned system would help the sea-guarding agencies such as the navy and the Coast Guard to keep an eye over a large area and keep a check on the vessels moving through the region and also verify their identity, they said.
The satellites would also be used to forewarn the authorities in case of any suspicious movement of ships or smaller vessels moving from Pakistan towards India.
With the satellites covering all the suspicious routes which the terrorists can possibly use in future, it will help the navy and the Coast Guard to locate, check, and if necessary, destroy such vessels.
The navy is going to commission its squadron of its Israeli Searcher and Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) tomorrow at Porbandar in Gujarat for enhancing its capabilities to tighten the vigil over the maritime traffic there.
India has a over 7,500-km long coastline, which was not well-guarded till recently and after the Mumbai attacks, several steps are being taken by the Centre to plug the gaps in coastal security.
With an increased threat perception, the government has sanctioned procurement of equipment including fast attack craft, offshore patrol vessels and reconnaissance aircraft for the navy and the Coast Guard.
The navy is also raising a new force called the Sagar Prahari Bal (SPB) to protect naval bases and the coastline areas.
The SPB will be deployed to carry out shallow water operations in both day and night for seaward anti-terrorist patrols for security of naval assets, besides interception at high speeds and perform search and rescue operations.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_india-plans-use-of-israeli-spy-sats-for-coastal-surveillance_1495207

PRESS INVITATION:FIRST ASIA TO GAZA CARAVAN RETURNS TO INDIA

ASIAN PEOPLE'S SOLIDARITY FOR PALESTINE -- INDIA LIFELINE TO GAZA

PRESS INVITATION

MEET THE FIRST EVER INDIAN ACTIVISTS TO ENTER GAZA, PALESTINE!!

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malayasia, Pakistan, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, UK

Venue: Press Club of India, Raisina Road, New Delhi - 110 001

Time: 2.45 pm

Date: January 10, 2011/Monday

Chased by Israeli warships and warplanes in the Meditteranean Sea... held hostage in a cargo ship off Egypt without passports.. the amazing story of grit and determination of more than a 120 activists from 17 Asian countries, over 50 of them from India alone, who entered Gaza (Palestine) last week after a historic month-long 8,000-km bus-ride through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt.

With them, they took life-saving medical equipment, food items, clothes and other aid worth $1 million, weighing 170 tons, for the people of Gaza who continue to suffer unspeakable hardship for nearly five years under the illegal blockade imposed by the Israeli-US regimes.

  

Through its journey, the caravan was greeted by tens of thousands of people and their leaders that included, among others, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmednijad, Hamas chief Khalid Mishal and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haaniya.

  

You are cordially invited to meet the delegates at the press conference and share their experience through our testimonies, as well as their rich collection of videos and photographs that documented the historic journey.

  

The activists included a diverse range of representation from the civil society -- Magsaysay Award winner social activist Sandeep Pandey, West Asian expert and peace activist Feroze Mithiborwala, Gandhian activist Suresh Khairnar, trade union leader Ashim Roy, noted journalist Ajit Sahi, student activists from Vidyarthi Bharati in Mumbai, and students from JNU and Jamia Millia. The Indian delegates hailed from UP, Punjab, Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jharkhand, among others.

  

SQR ILYAS, Spokesperson, All India Muslim Personal Law Board

ZAFARUL ISLAM KHAN, Editor, Milli Gazette,

ANIL CHAUDHARY, President, Insaaf

ANAND SWAROOP VERMA, Editor, Teesri Duniya

KISHOR JAGTAP, Vice-President, Awami Bharat

GAUHAR IQBAL, President, Palestine Solidarity Forum

BIRAJ PATNAIK, Right to Food Activist with Supreme Court commission

TASLEEM RAHMANI, President, Muslim Political Council of India

ASLAM KHAN, Vice-President, AISA

SHEHEEN, Solidarity Youth Movement

BISHRUDDEN SHARQI, ex-President, Students' Islamic Organisation

BADAR KHAN, Student, Jamia Millia Islamia

KHUSHBOO KUMARI, Student, JNU

MOHAMMAD IRFAN, General Secretary, Subjects Association, Nelson Mandela Centre, Jamia Millia

SALEEL CHEMBAYIL, Student, Jamia Millia

POOJA BADEKAR, President, Vidyarthi Bharati

ARIF KAPADIA, President, Marathi Bharati

http://mulnivasibharat.blogspot.com/2011/01/fwd-press-invitation-first-asia-to-gaza.html 

Asian Solidarity Brings Aid To Gaza

By Saleh Hasan

GAZA, Jan 4 (Bernama) - A month after embarking on its mission, the "Asia 1" aid convoy arrived in Gaza on Monday in an attempt to break the Israeli embargo on the Palestinian enclave.

The convoy comprised 112 members from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Japan, Kuwait and New Zealand.

They entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing after their flotilla docked at the Egyptian Al-Aresh Port.

Upon arrival at the Rafah crossing, Palestinian officials and people crowded around to welcome the convoy which started its long trip from India on Dec 2 to Syria and finally sailed to Egypt .

The group succeeded in bringing 1,000 tonnes of food supply, medicines and children's toys.

Their arrival coincided with the second anniversary of Israel's three-week offensive on Gaza that began on Dec 27, 2008.

During their visit in Gaza, the pro-Palestinian group visited the headquarters of the Palestinian parliament destroyed during the war.

At the headquarters of the International Red Cross in Gaza, the Asian activists attended a protest along with the families of Gazan prisoners calling for the immediate release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel's jails.

They chanted slogans and held placards, which among them, read "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves".

They also visited families of Palestinians who were killed during the assault to show their solidarity with them.

Meanwhile, the head of the Palestinian committee on breaking the siege, Ahmed Youssef greeted the convoy members and expressed the Palestinians' appreciation for their humanitarian effort.

"We highly appreciate your effort and we extend our thanks to your governments," he said when addressing the delegation.

Fayrouz Mesbrola from India, who was leading the "Asia 1" convoy, told a news conference that the mission was aimed at ending the inhumane siege of Gaza.

-- BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=554115

Shame on Egyptian Government !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1224353

The Hindu : News / International : Five Israeli naval ships tracking Asian aid ship

News » International 

DUBAI, January 3, 2011

   Five Israeli naval vessels are tailing the ship carrying humanitarian supplies from Asia to the besieged residents of Gaza.

         Speaking via satellite phone, Shaheen Moidunny, who is on board the ship Salam, told The  Hindu that Israeli ships had been tracking the movements of their vessel for the last six hours. Radio contact had been established with the Israeli navy. “We are only one hour away from the Egyptian port of Al-Arish, where the ship would be docked,” Mr. Moidunny said. He clarified that there were no plans to take the ship to Gaza. “All the humanitarian supplies would be taken overland from Al-Arish to the Rafa crossing on the Egyptian Gaza border,” he said.

   

           Mr. Moidunny said only eight persons were on board the aid ship, while the rest of the activists, from several Asian countries had been flown into Egypt from Syria.

            According to the Egyptian website Ahram Online, the “Asia to Gaza Solidarity Caravan” had remained stuck for nearly a week at the Syrian port of Latakia, before Egyptian authorities granted it permission to enter Al-Arish port. Activists from more than 15 countries, the majority of whom are Indians ,but also include nationals from Iran, Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Kuwait are participating in this initiative

           The convoy, which set off from New Delhi on December 2, was scheduled to reach Gaza by December 27, a day ahead of the second anniversary of Israel's 22-day war on Gaza.

          Earlier, Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper quoted Palestinian sources as saying that the Egyptian embassy in Damascus had issued visas to 120 activists, but had denied entry to another 46 hailing from Jordan and Iran. Some of the aid material, including 10 generators donated by Iran, were not allowed on the ship, and the size of the cargo was kept below 300 tonnes.

Keywords:

The Hindu : News / International : Five Israeli naval ships tracking Asian aid ship

Asian aid convoy reaches Gaza Strip

An aid convoy carrying food and medical supplies for the besieged Palestinians, as part of an Asian aid mission, has arrived in the Gaza Strip.

The Asia to Gaza Solidarity Caravan, (Asia 1) entered the coastal strip through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Monday.

Some 105 human rights activists gathered at the crossing. Most of them flew to Egypt from Syria. And eight activists arrived at the Egyptian port of El Arish onboard a ship.

Egyptian authorities had prevented Iranian activists with the convoy from entering Egypt.

The convoy had travelled 7,000 kilometers, but was stuck in Latikia, in the northwest of Syria, for more than a week awaiting Egypt's permission.

The aid convoy started its journey in the Indian capital, New Delhi. It had passed through Iran, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria to reach Egypt and finally the Gaza Strip.

The activists say they want to display solidarity with the Palestinian people in their resistance against Israel.

Tel Aviv has been enforcing an all-out land, aerial and naval blockade on the 1.5 million Palestinians in the enclave since mid-June 2007.

The embargo persists while Gaza is far from recovering from the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli war that claimed the lives of over 1,400 Palestinians, inflicting a damage of above $1.6 billion on the enclave's economy.

http://previous.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=158381&sectionid=351020202