THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Israel, one of India’s major defence equipment supplier, is eyeing God’s Own Country altogether for a different market. The thriving water industry in Israel is keen on tapping the potential of Kerala water sector and 17 Israeli water technology companies are in the state for exploring the possibilities. Orna Sagiv, Consul-General of Israel who is heading the team, told Express that Israel, pioneers of agriculture bio-technology, is keen to strike a partnership with Kerala for offering high-tech solutions on water technology. “In Kerala water is abundant but better water management techniques can be in place to ensure that people in all part of the state get water round-the-clock for drinking purpose. We can offer our expertise in water management and water recycling,” she said. With Kerala Government planning a slew of water projects which got the aid from World Bank, Israel is keen to offer technological solutions to set up projects for cost-effective desalination plant, automation for water pipelines and canals. The solar energy system for desalination plant, conservation and recharging of rain water, wastewater recycling and water purification are other projects in the sector. Sagiv said that the Israeli companies were also looking at wastewater treatment and desalination plant in the state. “Israel is number one in the world when it comes to wastewater recycling with 85% of water getting recycled. This is very high average compared with other countries in the world. Recycled water is used in the southern part of Israel for agriculture. Our expertise in ‘Agrotech’ come in use here and we are looking at business opportunities in the South India,” Sagiv said. The current bilateral trade between Israel and India has touched around $5 billion in 2010-11 and is expected to grow steadily. Considering that when the full diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992 with $180 million trade, the growth is phenomenal. We are looking now at diversification from the traditional sectors such as defence, precious stones and diamonds, she said. Sagiv said that Israeli companies were already operating in the country and looking for more joint ventures, since it gives them a chance to get connected with Indian companies. “We have two projects going on in Gujarat and one in Tamil Nadu and we hope to work with Kerala Government,” she said.
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