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Source: https://www.jpost.com/international/article-723316
The Burgeoning Israel-India Strategic Alliance
(Jerusalem Post) Jonathan Spyer - India is now the largest buyer of Israeli military equipment, with exports to India constituting 46% of Israel's total arms exports. In agriculture and water management, Indian authorities have partnered with Israel to develop methods to cope with an emergent water crisis. The deepening connections between Jerusalem and New Delhi in a myriad variety of fields are inescapable. India and Israel are facing a challenge common to Western-aligned states at a time when the U.S., the leader of the democratic world, is in a process of recalibrating and reducing its external commitments. In an essay published by the Middle East Institute in July 2021, Egyptian-born strategic thinker Mohammed Soliman posited the emergence of an "Indo-Abrahamic Alliance," bringing together the UAE, Israel and India. The UAE is now India's third-largest trade partner. The alliance would be based on deepening formalized cooperation in such areas as maritime security in the Mediterranean, the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, missile defense, drones, common opposition to Islamist extremism, and data security. A poll conducted by Israel's Foreign Ministry in 2009 found that 58% of Indians declared themselves supporters of Israel. Similar levels of warmth and support may easily be discerned on the Israeli side. The writer is executive director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis.