Economy Minister Nir Barkat spoke with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News from India to discuss the special Israeli delegation he is leading to India to promote trade between the countries.

"India is a giant waking up, and is becoming a hub not just regionally but internationally. I see many shared interests for India and Israel, both in terms of regional challenges and relations with the United States," he began.

"This is a classic joint venture for Israeli entrepreneurs. we bring innovation, they bring scale. More than 100 CEOs and entrepreneurs came with me on this delegation because they saw that opportunity and wanted to grab it.''

Cooperation between the countries will include defense ventures as well. ''They know that we are on the cutting edge of defense technology, and they are threatened by terror as well. They understand our intelligence and are really interested in what we do.''

He discussed the effects the Trump administration has had on India: "Trump has aligned his economy with the interests of the United States. A lot of Israel's interests are aligned with that as well. India is now also trying to align with that, and many other countries are trying to as well.''

'We hope to see Prime Minister Modi visit Israel soon, and bring a fast and smart trade agreement that can boost their relationship with Israel.''