The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Israel’s ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, on Wednesday, February 22, defended his government’s decision to hand over crisis-ridden Adani Group the control of Israel’s strategic Haifa Port. He described it as a “reflection of the trust” Israel has towards India.
Gilon made the remarks during a press conference on Wednesday organised to mark three decades of Indo-Israel formal diplomatic ties.
“The Adani Group paid in full the cost of the Haifa port. The port has money for development. Port infrastructure is an important part of the Adani Group. It is in the interest of both Adani and Israel. Everyone wants this port to work well. It is a strategic asset and will be useful for India. Adani Group is looking for more projects in Israel and I hope they get it,” The Hindu quoted Gilon as saying.
The Adani Group last month acquired the strategic port of Haifa for USD 1.2 billion (one billion =100 crore) and promised to transform the skyline of this Mediterranean city as part of its decision to invest more in the Jewish nation, PTI reported.
The investment by Adani in Haifa Port is the biggest ever infrastructural investment by an Indian corporate house in Israel. On the other hand, Haifa Port is the second largest port in Israel in terms of shipping containers and the biggest in shipping tourist cruise ships.
Israel and Adani Group inked the contract of Haifa Port at around the same time when the latter experienced a massive stock market rout after the allegations levelled by Hindenburg Research. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had earlier alleged that Adani Group got defence contracts in Israel due to Adani’s alleged proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On February 7, the Congress leader in his Lok Sabha speech had alleged that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Adani Defence & Aerospace and Israeli drone maker Elbit was linked to 2017 Modi’s visit to Israel. “Adani never made drones. HAL and other companies did. Despite that PM Modi goes to Israel, Adani gets the contract,” the Congress leader had said.
In response to questions on Adani, Gilon on Wednesday said Israel’s government does not “push” joint ventures between private companies. “We have joint ventures with 80 Indian companies which include Tata, Bell, Kalyani etc. To discuss one company — I don’t see the issue here. Joint ventures are private,” Gilon explained.
On the three decades of India-Israel diplomatic ties, Gilon said there had been several challenges, including the “recent erosion of bipartisan political support”, which he said did not dent bilateral ties between the two countries. He said Israel remains “popular” among the people of India.
The Israeli envoy indicated that India and Israel are keen on finalising the proposed free trade pact as it could further boost overall bilateral trade ties. He also hinted that there could be a forward movement on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during the upcoming “high-level” visit, PTI reported.
“Thirty years ago, we started on defence. Today it has spread across defence, agriculture and other sectors. Our relation today is very good. Israel enjoys popular support in India. People in India have a fascination for Israel,” he said, according to the Hindu report.