Israel has been one of the leading names in the world when it comes to terrorism and is known to take whatever measures necessary to get the job done. India in recent times has also been a target of militant terrorism starting from the sordid events of 26/11, Pune German Bakery blast thereafter and so on. So one feels it could well use the expertise of a country like Israel. This is what happened on August 29, 2014 when both the countries talked about issues like countering terrorism as well as homeland security. Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister, had a meeting with Daniel Carmon, Ambassador of Israel to India, in New Delhi.
India talks domestic security and terrorism with Israel
Carmon informed Singh at their meeting that Israel is now looking to set up a proper working relation with India especially in homeland security, which is a key area of concern for India as well. Both the countries have also recently inked an agreement and it is being said that the said deal is a step that has been taken in this direction. There is presently a ceasefire going on in Gaza and it has been appreciated by Rajnath Singh who is optimistic that it will bring some much needed peace in the area, something that would be good for both Palestine and Israel in the long term.
The Israeli Ambassador has also agreed in this regard with India’s Home Minister. He has stated that as of now Israel is looking to rebuild, demilitarize and restore Gaza so that the region becomes normal and peaceful as early as possible. Regarding the agreement between India and Israel, both the countries have discussed ways in which it can be implemented the best. In addition to the already mentioned areas, the said treaty includes ways for protecting classified material as well as information that is of interest to both the parties.
The treaty between India and Israel also deals with bilateral legal help that will be provided in cases involving criminals. The Ambassador of Israel to India also feels that ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is a major threat to a free world, a perception that is shared by India as well. It needs to be remembered in this context that ISIS has been engaging the armed forces in both the countries that it aspires to rule and it has been suggested in some circles that it is recruiting in India as well. It is a subdivision of Al-Qaeda, which happens to be one of the most notorious militant terror outfits going around in the world. It has also been able to assume control over vast swathes of land in both Iraq and Syria.
The third edition of the Israel Homeland Security International Conference and Exhibition is supposed to be organized at Tel Aviv in November 2014 and Rajnath Singh has been invited to join the event. The relations between both these countries seem to be picking up after the events at Gaza and India’s reaction to the same. One feels that with Israel’s standing in the world and its expertise in countering militant terrorism India would want to be an ally and count on its support as much as possible.
India may not be able to seal nuclear deal with Japan right away
Narendra Modi left for Japan on a five-day visit with a delegation of officials on Saturday morning. It is unlikely that this trip would see the much awaited nuclear deal signed between these countries right away. At the moment both the countries are talking about ways in which they can do away with the differences in the basic areas of the treaty that is still in the offing.
Japan has insisted that the safeguards need to be harder than they already are if the deal is to go through and it also does not want any nuclear test. However, it is believed that Modi will try and assure Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, with regards to various concerns such as nuclear tests. One feels that if these areas are addressed sufficiently then the deal could be signed in the foreseeable future. The UPA administration had started the negotiations for this deal and it was being thought that the deal would be clinched when Modi visited Japan.
Before Modi left for Japan he had stated that he will be looking at the various options in which Japan can be made party to the visions he has for developing India. He named manufacturing, energy and infrastructure as the sectors that were going to be important in this regard. Formal negotiations for the deal had been initiated during June 2010. India had signed a landmark nuclear deal with the US during 2008 and ever since it has been looking at a similar agreement with Japan. As per its deal with the US, India has been able to bring in nuclear technology and fuel and yet not give up its military programme with nuclear weaponry.
The main grouse of Japan is that the nuclear resources provided by it to India should not be used to manufacture weapons such as bombs. Discussions stopped after the fateful nuclear disasters at Fukushima during 2011. However, those talks resumed when Manmohan Singh visited Tokyo during May 2013 in his capacity as the then Prime Minister of India and are continuing in spite of the fact that the administration has changed in New Delhi.
One feels that Japan’s apprehension towards using nuclear energy as weapon stems from the fact that it was the only country that was bombed using a similar device. Incidentally, Japan has reached a nuclear deal with Turkey that has been consented to by the country’s parliament as well. As per the deal, Turkey will be able to reprocess and enrich the nuclear fuel it gets from Japan. Abe has very good relations with R Erdogan, the President of Turkey, like the one he shares with Modi. Japan has stated that it will look to add a clause to its nuclear agreement with India whereby if the latter used the nuclear resources procured from it for tests then the bilateral agreement will be ended then and there.
Economic indicators
| Indicators | Value | Rise/Fall |
| SENSEX | 26638.11 | 77.96 |
| NIFTY | 7954.35 | 18.30 |
| Rupee/Dollar | 60.50 | 0.04 |
| Gold | 28,010.00 | -65.00 |
| Silver | 42,244.00 | -161.00 |
| Crude oil | 5,830.00 | 69.00 |
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