New Delhi, 19 October, 2012: Israel will take part in Punjab’s efforts to diversify its agricultural crops and to improve production. These issues were discussed between the Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr. Prakash Singh Badal, and the Ambassador of Israel, Mr. Alon Ushpiz, in their meeting in Chandigarh on Thursday evening.
The cooperation between Israel and Punjab in agriculture, part of the Indo-Israel joint work plan, will be implemented in two Centres of Excellence that are being set up in the State, one for vegetables in Khatarpur, and one for fruits in Khanaura. Both sides are expecting to inaugurate these Centres in March 2013. In addition, Chief Minister Badal and Ambassador Ushpiz discussed the transfer of Israeli knowhow and expertise to Punjab in the fields of post-harvest and grain storage technologies, fishery and dairy farming. This will be done on both the Government and the private sector level.
Furthermore, the Chief Minister and the Ambassador discussed utilizing Israeli private sector expertise in fields which are critical to Punjab such as water management, sewage treatment, groundwater treatment and urban water challenges. Ambassador Ushpiz invited Chief Minister Badal to visit Israel to attend Watec, one of the world’s largest water technology conferences, in October 2013.
During his visit to Chandigarh, Ambassador Ushpiz called on the Governor of Punjab, Mr. Shivraj Patil, and discussed with him the strengthening of economic and trade ties between Israel and India. Governer Patil said that India and Israel have long standing bilateral relations based on shared democratic and social values, and stressed upon the need to join hands to cooperate in various fields, such as science, technology and renewable energy.
Ambassador Ushpiz also paid a visit to the Khalsa Heritage Centre in Anandpur Sahib, which was designed by Israeli born architect, Moshe Safdie. The Ambassador expressed his admiration for the lucid and compelling manner with which the museum showcases the glorious Sikh heritage.