India, Israel on right side of the US' equation

NIR BARKAT, Israel's minister of economy, was in India this week to promote bilateral trade. Barkat, a former paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, met ministers, chief executives and representatives of industry associations to explore how the two countries' companies could collaborate. Barkat, in an interview with Shivani Shinde and Dev Chatterjee in Mumbai, talked about how Israel promotes business and its target of $1 trillion exports in the next two decades. Edited excerpts

- Shivani Shinde and Dev Chatterjee

What steps is Israel taking to make its 10,000 startups successful?

The mentality or DNA of an Israeli is to never lose and that is the DNA of our startups too. When we come up with a new idea, we have to be successful. We will make sure of opening every door to make it happen. And when doors are closed, we will enter via windows or tunnels, but we have no other option but to be successful.

What are the main takeaways from your visit to India?

Many businesses in India have very good relations with Israel. One of the companies we met was 63 Moons, which is into cybersecurity, and they are collaborating with Israeli companies. We have 860 companies in the space of defense and cybersecurity. Israel is well known for cybersecurity innovation and we are looking for collaborations in this field.

What's your plan to increase trade between India and Israel?