Flags of India and Israel drape a lamp-post in New Delhi. Photo: Wikipedia.

As Israel and India engage in trade talks, the latter is looking to the former’s defense-and-security startups to boost the country’s know-how, an Indian commerce department official told the country’s Economic Times on Monday.

“Israel is very keen to have a trading arrangement with us,” the official said. “Startups are Israel’s strength. They’ve advanced technology in defense. If some kind of transfer happens, it can be seeding input for our startups.”

According to the official, since India is already a major customer of Israel’s defense technologies — Israel is the second-largest supplier of weapons systems to India — and the two militaries share high levels of cooperation, the startup arrangement would be more strategic in nature. 

Next month, Israel and India will hold their first joint military exercise, when an Israel Air Force squadron visits the country.

Amid a renewed bolstering of relations between the two nations, India and Israel enjoy bilateral ties in a number of fields, including health, education, research, agriculture and technology.

As reported by The Algemeiner, earlier this month, the Indian military said it plans to purchase Israeli radar systems to detect terrorists hiding in the dense forests along the country’s disputed border with Pakistan.

In addition, Israel launched its first-ever television tourism advertisement in India last week, with Israel’s Ministry of Tourism allocating $1.62 million toward the campaign, as The Algemeiner reported.

Both countries have also taken major steps to boost bilateral agricultural ties, including the transfer of water-conservation technologies to India.

A spokesman from the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi told The Algemeiner in June that, as India grapples with water shortages, the country is seeking to “gain first-hand knowledge of Israeli technologies and expertise in the water sector — including desalination and urban water systems — and how these techniques can be implemented back in India.”