NEW DELHI: "We would like the Indian companies to expand their activities in Israel and take part in privatisation process," Sharon told a gathering of Indian business leaders here. The business meeting was organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). "I assure you that you will be coming to a very, very friendly country. Once you visit Israel as businessman or tourist you will believe immediately that we are your friends." A 150-strong Israeli team, including senior ministers, top businessmen and journalists, is here as part of a high-level delegation accompanying Sharon. Sharon cut short his visit to India by a day and was due to return home Wednesday evening after suicide bombers struck near Tel Aviv and then in West Jerusalem. Sharon, who arrived here Monday night on a historic three-day trip, cancelled his scheduled journey Thursday to Mumbai, where he was to interact with Indian industrialists as well as the small Jewish community. India is Israel's second largest trading partner in Asia. The two-way trade has increased by 24.4 percent for the first six months of 2003, touching $784.4 million compared to $600.9 million in the corresponding period last year. "Israel's greatest natural resource is human capital. We are having more engineers per capita than any other country in the world. We have succeeded in reaching the cutting edge of high-tech," said Sharon. Earlier, India's Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said that India and Israel had not been able to realise their full potential in bilateral trade. "We are two natural business partners that have been separated by two bureaucracies," he said, adding there was need to set up a faster "communication and decision making" mechanism between the two countries.
Source: IANS