New Delhi, December 7: India and Israel on Monday held 16th round of foreign office consultations during which they reviewed progress in cooperation in areas such as defence and security, counter-terrorism and cybersecurity.

The consultations were led by Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary (CPV & OIA) and Alon Ushpiz, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, according to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Also Read | Essential Workers, Who Risked Their Lives During COVID-19 Pandemic, Win TIME’s 2020 Person of the Year Reader Poll.

"Both sides comprehensively reviewed the progress in ongoing cooperation, especially in the strategic fields of defence and security, counter-terrorism, cyber security, etc as also in other important areas of water and agriculture, science and technology, innovation and start-ups, energy, academic collaboration, furthering trade and mutual investments," an MEA release said.

It said success stories of the jointly developed Centres of Excellence in Agriculture, pilot project on water conservation in Bundelkhand region, and close collaboration between the Ahmedabad-based International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology (iCreate) and Israel's Start-Up Nations Central (SNC) to provide incubation support for co-development of niche technologies came up for particular praise. Also Read | Shaheen IX: China-Pakistan Air Forces to Hold Joint Exercises in Bholari at Thatta District.

Both sides further noted the helpful role of the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) and the University Grants Commission (UGC)-Israel Science Foundation (ISF) Fund in facilitating joint academic and scientific research work.

There was a discussion on respective national approaches to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing collaboration in medical and testing tools research. Bharat Bandh Tomorrow: BEST Buses, Taxis, Ola and Uber Cabs to Remain Operational in Mumbai on December 8.

The two sides also had an in-depth exchange of views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. They agreed on the importance of continuing the upward momentum in the relationship through an exchange of regular visits and consultations, and agreed to hold the next round of Foreign Office Consultations at a mutually convenient date, the release said.

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