"India and Israel are two ancient civilisations, and two young countries. In the last 26 years, we've learnt that when we do things together, we achieve greater results," said Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon, on the occasion of Israel's 70th Independence Day.
"India and Israel are now just five and a half hours away," he said, referring to the recent development of direct flights between the two countries, through Arab air space. He said this was a great achievement, the result of good diplomacy with the world. He thanked India for its initiatives in this diplomatic achievement.
The ambassador said high-level visits between both nations in the last few years have taken bilateral relations to greater heights, and the results were literally on the field—the cooperation in defence, agriculture and water management.
Seventy years, he said, was a long time in a person's life span, but for a country, it was just the beginning.
“They had to start from scratch, building a nation in a difficult land with a hostile neighborhood and great challenges—accommodating Jews from around the world, developing their defence, food security and technology.”
He said while they were proud of their achievements, it was the future they were eager to address. "The world has become small with technology. Cooperation is the key, in research, academia, trade... we are keen to reach out to the world. Reaching out is both a Jewish and an national value,'' he said, repeating how good partnerships, like that with India, were a win-win situation for all.