BANGALORE, July 24: Israel will relocate more units to India following the successful shifting of three units in the country, according to Meir Eshet, counsellorr for Economic Affairs, Embassy of Israel.

Israeli companies have already signed 100 MoUs with Indian companies and there is scope for cooperation in several other areas, he added. Israeli and Indian companies can work together in the fields of floriculture, food-processing and telecommunication.

The Indian software industry is customer intensive while the Israeli software industry is product intensive and therefore the two industries can synergise and work together at various levels according to Eshet.

He further said that imports for the telecom sector in the country go through some rigorous tests to ascertain the quality of equipment imported. Israel has easy foreign trade norms and taxation laws for foreign investors.

Morever the country has recorded an export growth of 93 per cent in the past four years and imports to the country have also shown tremendous growth.Eshet was speaking at an interactive session organised by the Greater Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GMCI) here on Wednesday.

The session on `Doing Business with Israel' was also organised to inform representatives of the Indian industry about the international fair on plastics to be held in Tel Aviv later this year.

In his welcome address GMCI president RP Agarwal said that the main items of Indo-Israel trade are diamonds, cotton yarn and chemicals. While 83 per cent of Israel's exports to India comprise of diamonds and chemicals, 76 per cent of India's exports to Israel comprise of cut and finished diamonds and cotton yarn.

During 1996, Indian exports to Israel amounted to $ 251 million, Israel's exports to India amounted to $ 312 million. Though India has an unfavourable balance of trade with Israel amounting to $ 61 million, some new trade links could help ease the situation.

According to Agarwal, there are plenty of opportunities for trade between the two countries especially in areas of defence equipment, textiles, garments, agro-products, organic chemicals, marble, grantie, electronic components and automotive vehicles.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.