دانلود کتاب مشارکت راهبردی هند و اسرائیل

India-Israel relations took on a new dimension after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jerusalem in July 2017. Bilateral relations are on a strong footing, with strengthened cooperation in the defence sector, apart from robust peopleto- people links. Israel, for instance, accounted for nearly 15 per cent of foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) from West Asia during 2017-21, at more than 200,000 visitors cumulatively for that period. India-Israel bilateral trade, from around US$ 500 million in 1995, peaked to around US$ 6.7 billion in 2011-12 but dropped to US$ 4.6 billion in 2020-21, in the wake of the pandemic. In 2021-22, bilateral trade increased to US$ 6897.42 million, a growth of nearly 50 per cent. The bilateral trade, though, is more often described as made up of ‘diamonds and defence’, as these components are the defining characteristics of the relationship. Trade in HS Classification code 71, relating to natural or cultured pearls and/or precious stones, for instance, during the last five years accounted for 36.7 per cent of total trade (US$ 9491.7 million out of a total cumulative trade of US$ 25,824 million during this period). As for the volume of defence trade, A.K. Antony, the then Defence Minister, informed the Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) in May 2007 that ‘defence purchases’ from Israel during 2002-2007 were over $5 billion. Prior to this, in August 2005, Deputy Defence Minister B.K. Handique told the Rajya Sabha that ‘the total value of the purchase contracts’ with Israel during 2002-2005, for the purchase of ‘military hardware, equipment and ammunition’, was Rs. 11,882.54 crores. These amount to, perhaps, the two occasions when the Government of India informed the Parliament of the financial value of India-Israel defence cooperation. In recent times, as during 2016-20, India accounted for 43 per cent of Israel’s total arms exports, with Azerbaijan a distant second, accounting for 17 per cent.5 Israel was the eighth-largest arms exporter globally during this period, accounting for 3 per cent of global arms exports, after the US, Russia, France, Germany, China, the United Kingdom and Spain. During 2017-21, India’s share in Israel’s global exports fell to 37 per cent, followed by Azerbaijan (13 per cent) and Vietnam (11 per cent), respectively. Missiles and sensors overwhelmingly make up the bulk of defence exports from Israel. Since 2000, for instance, Israel has exported more than $13 billion worth of defence equipment, as per the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Trend Indicator Values (TIVs). Out of these, missiles and sensors make up 58 per cent of the volume. Russia, meanwhile, was India’s biggest arms supplier during 2017-21, accounting for 46 per cent of the country’s imports. During the previous five year period, 2012-16, India’s arms imports from Russia stood at nearly 70 per cent of its total arms imports. France (18 per cent) and Israel (13 per cent), other than Russia, made up the top three arms suppliers to India during 2016- 20. While India imported 18 per cent of its arms from France during this period, French exports to India accounted for 21 per cent of that country’s total arms exports, ahead of Egypt and Qatar, at 20 and 18 per cent, respectively. During 2017-21, French arms exports to India increased dramatically, accounting for 27 per cent of India’s total imports, with the United States accounting for 12 per cent of India’s arms imports, displacing Israel at the third position.