Adani Group paid in full for Haifa port, eyes other projects, says Israeli envoy

The handing over of Haifa port to Adani Group reflects Israel's "deep trust" in entrusting its strategic assets to Indian companies, Israeli ambassador Naor Gilon said on Wednesday against the backdrop of a downturn in the fortunes of the conglomerate.

Adani Group has "paid in full the cost of Haifa port" and there are adequate funds for further development of the facility, Gilon said at a media briefing on 30 years of diplomatic relations between Israel and India. Adani Group is eyeing more projects in the country and Israel hopes the firm will be successful in these efforts, he said.

Gilon described the sale of Haifa as part of Israel's divestment of state-owned ports as a "landmark" deal and noted that operating ports is the "bread and butter" of Adani Group.

"The fact that we are giving it to an Indian company...it's a very symbolic sign of deep trust in depositing your strategic assets in the hands of Indian companies," he said.

A consortium led by Adani Group completed the purchase of Haifa port, a major trade and tourism hub on the Mediterranean, for $1.15 billion last month. Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a ceremony to mark the completion of the deal, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani had spoken of further investments in Israel to "transform the entire port landscape". However, the combined equity market value of Adani Group's 10 companies has slipped below $100 billion following a scathing report by a US short seller.

Gilon dispelled suggestions the conglomerate might not be in a position to go ahead with the development of the port and said, "They have the potential...to make the Haifa port the port it needs to be and to utilise it to increase trade in the region, trade between India and Israel...We are very happy with this."

He added, "It's the core business of Adani, what he knows how to do and it's [in] the interest of the Adani Group, Israel and India and everyone who wants to make this world work well to have this port...The Adani Group are looking for more projects in Israel and I hope they succeed in also getting [them]."

Gilon pointed to more than 80 joint ventures formed by Indian and Israeli firms in diverse sectors ranging from defence to renewable energy and water management and said: "The number of companies that we are dealing with [and] to focus on one company – I don't see the issue here."

Such joint ventures "are not signed or pushed by Israel", and Israeli companies are joining hands with strong and stable manufacturing partners in India to be relevant for the Indian market. With bilateral trade in goods, excluding defence deals, worth about $10 billion in 2022 and trade in services touching $1 billion, finalising a free trade agreement is a priority for both countries, Gilon said.

The trust and intimacy built up in India-Israel relations over three decades is the foundation that facilitates close cooperation on even the most sensitive defence technologies, Gilon said. While the Make in India initiative is a challenge as countries are usually not keen to share cutting-edge military technologies, Israel sees it as an opportunity, especially at a time when defence procurements around the world are rising due to the Ukraine crisis and the "fear of China", he added.

"Because of the intimacy between India and Israel, the long-standing cooperation in defence, I think Israel can have an advantage when it comes to Make in India and the ability to work together with India on very sensitive issues," Gilon said.

Responding to a question on the controversy over Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid's criticism of "The Kashmir Files", Gilon said this was an "internal" issue for Indian society and Lapid shouldn't have interfered in the matter. The envoy also sidestepped a question on the misuse of the Pegasus spyware developed by the Israeli firm NSO Group and said the software was developed to counter terrorism and organised crime and is sold under stringent export controls only to specified state actors.