Capt meets Israeli Prez, seeks help in security, conservation
CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday met Israeli President Reuven Rivlin for technical collaboration and support in the key areas of water management, agriculture and homeland security.
The CM called on Rivlin at the President House in Jerusalem. Referring to Punjab’s hostile neighbours, the CM also underlined the need to adopt Israeli knowledge and technologies in the area of homeland security.
He said there was a need to take urgent steps to check the depletion of water levels in Punjab and sought help in utilising Israeli knowhow and expertise in addressing Punjab’s concerns in the areas of water management.
The President shared Israel’s experience on judicious management of water to transform a desert into an agricultural nation and observed that India’s water problem had also been raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their discussion. He suggested use of desalination to make water drinkable, as was being done extensively by Israel through various innovative technologies.
The two leaders also discussed the centenary celebration of Haifa liberation by the Indian troops. The CM later visited the Commonwealth Cemetery for the Battle of Haifa martyrs and paid tributes to the Indian soldiers who had laid their lives while protecting Haifa city from the Ottoman Empire forces during World War-I.
AGRICULTURE, WATER CONSERVATION PACTS
The Punjab government on Tuesday signed four memorandums of understandings (MoUs) with Israel to boost cooperation in water conservation and management, as well as agricultural research and education.
The MoUs were signed in the presence of the CM on the second day of his Israel visit.
The MoU on water management was signed between Punjab Water Resources Management and Development Corporation and Israel’s national water company, Mekorot Development and Enterprise Ltd.
Under the MoU, Mekorot will formulate water conservation and management plan for the Punjab, recommend use of appropriate technology, detailed project reports.
The plan will be finalised with two months, unless the parties agree to an extension.
The three MoUs relating to agricultural research have been signed by the Punjab Agricultural University with Israel’s ARAVA Institute, Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Galilee International Management Institute.