Terrorism, climate change on the cards during President Mukherjee's Israel visit

President Pranab Mukherjee has said that India is looking forward to enhance its close co-operation with Israel to fight the menace of terrorism and other global challenges like climate change, reform of global governance architecture, etc.

"India is distressed at the recent violence. India condemns all forms of terrorism. We have always advocated a peaceful resolution of all disputes. We will seek the assessment of the Israeli leadership about the recent developments in this region which have caused concern all over the world and have direct implications for India," President Mukherjee said.

The President also said that he will discuss many global challenges that India and Israel face today - including the growing menace of terrorism and extremism, common concerns about climate change and the urgent need for reform of global governance architecture with Israeli leadership during his visit.

Addressing the press immediately after the ceremonial reception hosted by Ambassador of India to Israel, Jaideep Sarkar, President Mukherjee said that India attaches high importance to its relationship with Israel.

"The relations between India and Israel have taken great strides in the last few years. We are cooperating and collaborating in a range of areas from defence and agriculture to science, research and innovation. We are also discovering and identifying new areas of complementarities where there is significant potential to be realized. There are tremendous opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration," President Mukherjee said.

"As two leading knowledge economies of Asia and the world, India and Israel have many strengths and much to learn from each other's experiences," he added.