Ambassador of Israel to India, Reuven Azar visited the Centre of Excellence for Vegetables and Flowers in Telangana on Friday.

Azar went through the archives of the centre and interacted with the officials there.

“The idea of the Centre of Excellence was set up many years ago in partnership between the Government of India and the Government of Israel. The Government of India has invested in building modern nursery irrigation systems here which actually provides an opportunity for farmers to benefit from subsidized seedlings and technology demonstrations so that they can implement it in the fields and increase the yield,” Azar said while speaking to ANI.

“So this Centre of Excellence set up by the Agriculture Ministry of the Government of Telangana is very well managed…32 Centres of Excellence are operating in India. So we have heard today that the Center of Excellence here is interested in renovation. We will discuss this with Government of India, with the Ministry of Agriculture. There’s also interest in creating another center of Excellence in Telangana in the field of mangoes and bee-keeping. So we’ll try to see what we can do regarding that. So I’m very happy to visit here with my wife,” the Israeli envoy said.

On Thursday, Azar gave a courtesy call to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy at his residence in Jubilee Hills.

In a post on X, Azar said, “Deeply impressed by the advanced level of development in Telangana! Thank you Telangana CM Revanth Reddy for the cordial reception. We will work together to enhance cooperation in the fields of water, innovation and infrastructure.”

Azar has earlier praised India’s market and potential for growth. While talking to ANI on November 8, Azar emphasized India’s large domestic market and its capability to access third markets, particularly in the US and Europe, making it an attractive destination for Israeli companies seeking to develop and commercialize technologies.

“There is a huge interest in Israel in the Indian market for several reasons. First of all, because India is a very vibrant market and a very young market. Second, India offers things that other markets do not offer, such as a local domestic market that is very big, and also the capability to together access third markets, especially in the United States and Europe. So many Israeli companies are trying to cooperate to develop together technologies, also to commercialize technologies, make production here in India, and to market. And this is a very important effort for us as we try to grow our technological exports and technological prowess around the world,” he said.