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India-Israel automobile cooperation is gaining momentum, with Israeli technology companies increasingly partnering with Indian firms as India becomes more competitive globally, Reuven Azar, Ambassador of Israel to India, said on Wednesday.
"Yes, we've been cooperating for a long period of time, every year. Thanks to the efforts of our trade attache, we bring Israeli companies. And especially now that India is opening up to the world and becoming more competitive, the importance of this cooperation increases," Azar told ANI in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the 66th annual session of ACMA. Azar cited the cooperation between Israeli technology company Mobileye and Mahindra as an example of the growing partnership in the automobile sector. "Only last year we got Mobileye from Israel cooperating with Mahindra to upgrade good sensors on the next six models of Mahindra cars. And likewise, there are many other corporations," he said. He said the cooperation also extends to electric vehicle technology, citing the partnership between Israeli company EVR Motors and Larsen & Toubro (L&T). "EVR Motors from Israel is cooperating with L&T, a new factory in India that is going to produce electric motors for vehicles. So we are thrilled to be here to see the presence of the Israeli company," Azar said. Azar said India's increasing global competitiveness was creating greater scope for such cooperation between the two countries. When asked about the impact of tensions in the Middle East on the industry, he said the Israeli economy remained resilient despite the crisis. "No, the Israeli economy is alive and kicking. Only in the last quarter we grew by 15 per cent," he said. Azar also referred to India's economic performance, saying the Indian economy was doing well despite the crisis. "And we know that the Indian economy is also doing very well. Despite the crisis, we've seen the reports of the last quarter, 7.8 per cent. I think the economies are very resilient, and we are determined to continue cooperation for the mutual benefit," he said. The ambassador said cooperation between India and Israel was also expanding beyond automobiles, particularly into infrastructure. "The great news we got this year is that we are going to see the entrance of infrastructure companies from India to the Israeli market," Azar said. He said an infrastructure project worth USD 50 billion had drawn participation from Indian companies. "We have a USD 50 billion project, and we are glad that half of all the companies that tendered in this endeavour are from India, 11 companies from India. So this is going to be a revolution in our bilateral relationship," Azar said. Azar said the presence of Israeli technology companies in India, along with the participation of Indian infrastructure companies in the Israeli market, reflected the expanding scope of bilateral economic cooperation. (ANI)
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