Israeli PM Netanyahu inaugurates 'Raisina Dialogue', praises Modi policies

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inaugurated the third edition of the geo-political conference, 'Raisina Dialogue', here on Tuesday and laid stress on the need to develop economic, military and political power to emerge as a strong nation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also attended the inaugural session.

Delivering his inaugural address, the Israeli premier appreciated the efforts being made by the Narendra Modi government to cut the bureaucratic red tape and improve ease of doing business.

Netanyahu, on a six-day visit to India, said a government can both facilitate and block economic growth. Growth is possible when there is a free market which facilitates innovation by business entities, he said.

Referring to economic growth, he said, "The weak don't survive, the strong survive...you make alliance with the strong."

He said that to defend a nation, one needs a strong military which in turn requires a lot of money. The money, he said, comes from a strong economy.

Netanyahu stressed that alliance between democracies was important.

The event, jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research Foundation (ORF), is a multilateral conference aimed at addressing challenging issues globally.

The theme of the dialogue this year is 'Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions and Idioms'.