Palestine issue doesn’t diminish India-Israel relations

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Last Updated27/05/2022

Recently Israel’s Consul-General in Bengaluru said that the unresolved Palestine issue could be a factor in India-Israel relationship, but it does not diminish or negate the partnership between the two countries.

Under the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020, Israel signed normalisation agreements with four Arab countries — the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
This is changing the dynamics of the region - with potential grouping among India, USA, Israel and UAE which termed as middle east Quad.
The security and economic dynamics are under major shift in the region, India recently signed FTA with UAE giving boost to its plan of enhance its engagements.

Both the countries are increasingly engaged in the fields of agriculture, defence and cybersecurity.
Following agreements have been signed between India and Israel during the recent visit of Israeli PM to India:
- Cyber Secuirty Cooperation
- Energy Cooperation
- Air Transport agreement
- Cooperation in the area of Metal-air batteries
- Medicine and Space science MoU
- Invest India and Invest in Israel deal
Along with wide area of cooperation, defence collaboration plays a crucial role in India-Israel Relations. Eg, Barak 8 missile joint devlopment.

Israel is averse to any idea or deal that bring relief to Iran and its nuclear programme.
India has significant interest in reviving the JCPOA.

Removing sanctions may revive India’s interest in the Chabahar port, Bandar Abbas port, and other plans for regional connectivity.
This would further help India to neutralize the Chinese presence in Gwadar port, Pakistan.
Apart from Chabahar, India’s interest in the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC), which runs through Iran, which will improve connectivity with five Central Asian republics, may also get a boost.

Due to the pressure linked to the US’ Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), India has to bring down oil imports to zero.
Restoration of ties between the US and Iran will help India to procure cheap Iranian oil and aid in energy security.

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