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Reuven Azar, the newly appointed Ambassador of Israel to India, revealed that there is "big news" from Israel is expected soon.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, the Israeli envoy said, "We expect big news when it comes to semiconductors in the coming days, we have something in the pipeline". Israel has hinted at an impending major announcement in the semiconductor sector, likely from a private Israeli company. While he refused to give specific details, reports suggest that Tower Semiconductor, an Israeli company specialising in manufacturing integrated circuits, is expected to invest billions of dollars in India. However, no official confirmation has been made regarding the investment till now. When pressed for more information, Ambassador Azar remarked, "I don't want to put the carriage in front of horses; there are some private sector people that are initiating this, they will be going to announce it, the trend is very clear, we are going to see a lot of movement there and another field we want to promote." India has been working to create a favourable environment for investments in semiconductor manufacturing as part of its broader ambition to become a global leader in the sector. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that India is on the path to becoming a semiconductor hub. In pursuit of this goal, India is actively seeking partnerships with several countries, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Germany, in various aspects of semiconductor production. Several Indian states--Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha--are vying to attract global semiconductor companies by offering substantial incentives. Some semiconductor facilities are already taking shape in states like Gujarat, Assam, and Maharashtra. To further bolster these efforts, Uttar Pradesh is set to host the Semicon India event this month, aimed at attracting manufacturers and investors to the state. In addition to potential semiconductor investments, Israel is also seeking to strengthen cooperation with India in the infrastructure sector. Ambassador Azar shared that Israel is planning to invest USD 35 billion in infrastructure projects, including a new metro system in the Tel Aviv area and a new airport. Israel is looking to Indian infrastructure companies to help build these projects. "We have incredible defence cooperation, a new sector we want to introduce is we want to attract Indian infrastructure companies, we are going to invest USD 35 billion in infrastructure projects. We need to build new metro in Tel Aviv area, new airport. India has already built 1000 kilometres of metro, India is third largest country when it comes to metro build up, we need Indian companies and Indian workforce in Israel. What we have agreed with Indian government. We will bring here the relevant decision makers form Israel," said Ambassador Azar. When asked whether Israel would prefer India over China as an investment destination, Ambassador Azar diplomatically responded, "I am a diplomat but it goes without saying that bonds that unite, bring together India and Israel are unique, first we have in common principles of freedom, motivation of accepting the others, many things bond together and we have excellent relationship". He also highlighted the strong personal relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, noting how this bond has helped strengthen ties between the two nations. "Symbol of excellent relationship between two countries is bond between PM Modi and Netanyahu and partnership it has created years ago when they exchanged visits We are following that lead, we have been benefitting from this relationship a lot and we have natural friendship," he added. (ANI)
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