New Delhi: India and Israel have forged a closer bond during the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to cooperation on research and collaborations on start-ups focussed on fighting the deadly coronavirus, according to Ron Malka, Israel’s ambassador to India.
Speaking to ThePrint’s Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta in an online ‘Off The Cuff’ conversation, Malka said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken a couple of times during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the cooperation between India and Israel has got “enhanced”, bringing the countries “closer”.
“Under the corona crisis, the relations even became closer… The cooperation is now enhanced… So we are always updated and willing to share and do things together,” Malka said.
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Fighting the coronavirus together
Malka also said Israel has been able to flatten the coronavirus curve — control the number of active cases — due to some “drastic measures” taken by its government.
Earlier last month, Israel’s Institute for Biological Research, run by its defence ministry, boosted hopes of finding a vaccine for Covid-19, having successfully completed trials on rodents.
But in terms of a “breakthrough”, Israel claims it has been able to find a treatment for Covid-19 wherein three kinds of antibodies get created, preventing the virus from spreading inside a human body.
“Until we get the vaccine, which for sure will take time, we need to flatten the infection curve… There has been a breakthrough (in treatment) with the Israeli Institute for Biological Research. They managed to develop three kinds of antibodies that actually stop the coronavirus, block it and prevent it from infecting the human cell,” he said.
The ambassador added that Israel’s Ministry of Defence is collaborating with India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to work on rapid tests for Covid-19 using various techniques. “We may soon bring good news to the world,” he said.
Malka, who was speaking from Israel, also said start-up firms in both countries are also jointly collaborating on fighting the virus and will create “beautiful things”.
However, according to the envoy, it is now more critical to fight the virus than investigating where it originated and how it spread, something on which the US and China have locked horns.
“We (Israel) are focussing now in fighting the coronavirus, trying to get a balance to get control over the infection curve, the economy… This is not the time to investigate. This is a time to focus on finding solutions for lives and livelihoods,” he said.
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‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and defence cooperation
According to the ambassador, the goal of self-reliance, as propounded by PM Modi, is being followed by Israel as well when it comes to defence cooperation.
“We want to come to India, with our technology, with our experience and with our practices, to work and produce in India, with Indian workers on Indian soil, and even later to export from India to like-minded countries. That is why this cooperation is so fruitful and so rewarding,” Malka said.
He added that Israel is willing to share technology with India on defence cooperation and counterterrorism, and that both countries face the same set of issues and challenges.
“The future is bright for us,” he said, adding that “there is unlimited scope of cooperation” when it comes to ‘Make in India’.
Malka said the relationship between Israel and India is a strategic partnership, which is “wider, deeper and stronger” compared to its ties with China, which is “purely economics”.
New FTA taking shape
On the issue of a proposed India-Israel free trade agreement (FTA), the envoy said while both sides were discussing one for a few years now, it has been decided to start negotiations for a new one.
“The one that we had was cancelled by India, but now we got a new one… In trade relations, not only do India and Israel compete with each other, but complete each other. There is no threat, no risk that Israel will flood Indian markets with its produce,” he said.
“Hopefully, in future, we can announce a new FTA between Israel and India. We are working on it now.”
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