Prime Minister Ariel Sharon flew to New Delhi and Bombay this
week for the first prime-ministerial visit there since the
two countries first established full ties 11 years ago. He
was received with great ceremony.
Sharon was greeted by Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister.
After the greeting, Sharon went to lay a wreath on a monument
to India's founder, Mahatma Ghandi.
The high visibility visit signals the dramatic blossoming of
ties between India and Israel over the last decade.
In brief comments to reporters, Sharon said Israel recognizes
India as one of the most important countries in the world,
views it as a sister democracy, and hopes his visit will
strengthen the relationship between the countries. The
Indian prime minister said he is confident Sharon's visit
would boost military and trade ties with Israel without
diluting India's support of the Palestinian cause.
Israel and India both face Islamic extremists, and both seek
American support. But India has a very large Moslem
population of its own.
Negotiators will spend the three-day visit working out
several deals. One, for three plane-mounted Phalcon radars,
manufactured by Israel's state-owned Israel Aircraft
Industries, is valued at $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion.
The United States is watching the deal with interest.
America's interests in Asia have shifted since the Cold War,
when Pakistan was supported as a bulwark against Communist
China. Now, Islamabad is plagued with Islamist extremism
while Pakistan's foes in India, the world's largest
democracy, have embraced unambiguously the Bush
administration's war on terrorism.
After the United States approved Israel's Phalcon deal with
India in May, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf assailed
the United States, but by summer he was calling for a
national debate on recognizing the Jewish state.
Analysts attributed Musharraf's reversed course to
Islamabad's jitters at the prospect of being bested by India
in a future air war.
India recognized Israel in 1950 but full diplomatic relations
between the two countries were not established until 1992.
Non- military trade has risen to $1.6 billion this year from
$200 million in 1992.
Israel's population of 6.7 million is minuscule compared with
India's almost one billion citizens.
