Program to bring 100 Indian post-doc students to Israel

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz in India agrees to establish joint program to bring 100 Indian post-doctoral students to Israeli universities.

By NADAV SHEMER
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz 311 R (photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz 311 R
(photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Indian Communication and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal met in New Delhi on Wednesday, and agreed to establish a joint program to bring 100 Indian post-doctoral students to Israeli universities.
Steinitz also met with his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, and National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon during the three-day visit – the first by an Israeli finance minister to India in 15 years.
Steinitz’s office said the purpose of the visit was to boost economic relations with India and negotiate a free-trade agreement.
India fell to ninth in the list of Israel’s export destinations in the first three quarters of 2011, compared to fourth in the corresponding period the previous year.
Exports to India reached NIS 934 million from January-September, a 30 percent drop from the previous year, according to the Israel Export Institute. It said the reason was because most of these exports were mining products – a volatile industry reliant on new contracts and supply agreements.