Israel's Finance Minister Smotrich meets Gujarat CM Patel, visits GIFT City

Gandhinagar, Sep 10 (PTI) Finance Minister of Israel Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday met Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel here and discussed ways to further deepen relations between India's western state and the Jewish country.

Smotrich, on his maiden India tour, also visited GIFT City and held a meeting with regulators and CEO of the global finance & tech centre in Gandhinagar and discussed prospects of cooperation.

"Had a fruitful meeting with Israel's Finance Minister Mr Bezalel Smotrich and his delegation in Gandhinagar during his maiden visit to India. Pleased to learn of his special wish to visit the home state of honourable PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji," Patel said in a tweet.

The CM maintained he discussed a wide range of topics with the visiting dignitary and his delegation.

"Held meaningful discussions on deepening Gujarat-Israel relations, given the shared strength in heritage, tradition, culture, and technology. Explored B2B opportunities and the potential collaborations for Israeli financial institutions in GIFT City with a suggestion to form a joint team to advance these prospects," he said in another post on X.

Gujarat is keen to collaborate with the West Asian country in drip irrigation and other development-oriented projects, Patel observed.

"Conveyed heartfelt condolences for the innocent lives lost in recent incidents in Israel and admired the nation's resilience in facing challenges," the CM opined.

During the meeting, Smotrich emphasized on the shared heritage, traditions, culture, and technology between Gujarat, other states of India, and Israel, and engaged in meaningful discussions on further strengthening these ties in the future, a government release said.

The Finance Minister stated that he visited Gujarat with the desire to see the birthplace of a distinguished leader like Prime Minister Modi and to explore opportunities for business relations and for Israel to operate in international financial hubs such as GIFT City, it said.

"He (Smotrich) noted that the close ties between PM Modi and the Prime Minister of Israel, along with their shared commitment to combating terrorism, have further strengthened relations between the two countries," the release said.

He lauded India's consistent support for Israel and expressed interest in learning about the use of UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and financial protocols, according to the release.

Israel's Finance Minister also visited Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) -- India's first operational smart city and maiden International Financial Services Centre in Gandhinagar -- according to a separate statement.

Accompanied by a delegation comprising senior officials from the Israeli government and regulators, Smotrich held detailed discussions with Chairperson of IFSCA K Rajaraman, MD & Group CEO, GIFT City, Sanjay Kaul, and senior officials from GIFT City & IFSCA to understand the financial hub's development model.

"We are honoured to host honourable Finance Minister Mr Bezalel Smotrich at GIFT City. His visit reflects the global recognition GIFT City is receiving as a modern financial and tech hub. We see immense potential for collaboration between India and Israel, especially in areas like fintech, innovation, and sustainable finance," Kaul noted.

Discussions during the visit highlighted the existing diverse opportunities available at GIFT City across banking, insurance, capital markets, fintech, and asset management, he said.

Backed by world-class infrastructure, progressive regulations, and strong government support, GIFT City is steadily positioning itself as a gateway for global institutions to participate in India's growth story, Kaul opined. PTI PD RSY