India, Israel vow to 'checkmate' terror

Jerusalem: India and Israel on Tuesday vowed to upgrade their relations in all fields amid the emphasis by External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on working out a joint strategy to 'checkmate' the scourge of terrorism affecting both the countries.

The two countries signed an Extradition Treaty and a pact on Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners as Krishna wound up his two-day visit in Jerusalem, first by an Indian Foreign Minister in over a decade.

During his stay here before travelling to Palestine, Krishna met the top leadership including President Simon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu besides holding elaborate talks with his counterpart Avigdor Lieberman.

Netanyahu described India as \'a natural ally\' of Israel in all frontiers of science.

The External Affairs Minister highlighted the problems faced by both India and Isreal due to terrorism. "So I think we will have to work out a strategy as how we address ourselves to the scourge of international terrorism which has become a curse for the entire humanity.

"I think our efforts should be to checkmate it and ultimately eradicate terror from the face of the earth, "Krishna said in comments that came in the backdrop of increasing cooperation between Tel Aviv and New Delhi in the field of homeland security and defence.

Describing India as "a natural ally" of Israel in all frontiers of science, he said he looked forward to an increased economic content to the existing areas of cooperation.

Netanyahu said India and Israel were "two ancient peoples, seizing the future, in technology, in innovation, in enterprise. I think we can seize it even better by our cooperation."

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