NEW DELHI: To commemorate 20 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel, the two countries are all set to launch two stamps on a common theme. The limited editions stamps will be launched here at an event on Nov 19 and will be in circulation in India by December.

 

Themed on the "festival of lights", one stamp depicts the Jewish festival of Hannukah with a row of candles. The other, depicting the Hindu festival of Diwali, features diyas. The two stamps will also be available in Israel later this year. They have been designed by Indian artist Alka Sharma and Israeli artist Ronen Goldberg.

India and Israel have long shared strategic relations in military and defence. Israel is among the largest arms supplier to India. An impending Free Trade Agreement between the two countries is expected to triple the current volume of trade between them. The negotiations for the trade have been on for roughly three years. "We just concluded the fifth round of discussions on the FTA. We are looking forward to finalizing it and it's definitely on the top of our agenda,"says David Goldfarb, spokesperson, Israeli embassy in India. The FTA is expected to be finalized next year.