Jerusalem, Aug 05: Founder of the India Caucus and US Congressman Frank Pallone has said he would ask Washington to approve the sale of a missile defence shield to New Delhi and Israel's transfer of Falcon Early Warning Radar Systems to India was the first step in this direction. "I will continue to urge the Bush administration to strengthen the ties between our three nations by finally approving the sale of a defence shield that protects India from short and long range ballistic missiles," Pallone said here on Sunday after a meeting with Indian ambassador to Israel Raminder S Jassal.
Pallone said he was "pleased" that Israel, with US approval, was providing the Falcon system to India and was hopeful that the sale of other missile defensive systems would follow so that India could increase its ability to defend itself, a press release here said.
"The anti-missile system like the falcon is a defensive system that would be sold to a peaceful democracy," he said.
Pallone said the US, India and Israel were "pillars of democracy" with a common interest in combating terrorism and seeking global peace and stability.
"Last year, Israel and India set up a joint working group on counter-terrorism and a separate working group on defense cooperation. These are similar to the working groups that India has with the US, and serve to highlight the tripartite nature of the relationship," he added.
The New Jersey Congressman said Jassal was very upbeat about increased diplomatic and economic ties between Israel and India, in addition to the close defence relationship Bureau Report