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Israeli PM lauds Narendra Modi for moving India up the ease of doing business rankings, says the future belongs to nations that innovate.

New Delhi: Insisting that nations need to exert ‘hard power’ beyond just a soft approach, visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked about an India-Israel alliance, and called for cutting bureaucratic red tape to take ties forward.

Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue, Netanyahu made a case for a free market approach to encourage innovation in technology, applauding PM Narendra Modi for moving India up on the ‘ease of doing business’ list.

“I like soft power, but hard power is usually better. You need F-35s (fighter jets), cyber, a lot of intelligence… Where does the power for hard power come from? It comes from economic power,” Netanyahu said, addressing an audience that included Modi.

Saying that Israel has achieved the goal of using economic power to build the military, the visiting PM said that the future belongs to nations that innovate.

“We have achieved a transition to a more liberal economy, and we are committed to this path. The future belongs to those who innovate. We are doing it and India is doing it,” he said.

Netanyahu said the main task before Indian and Israeli leaders was to “cut the bureaucracy with a machete”.

The leader said the common secret to the success of India and Israel were their shared traditional values, and innovation bound together with a commitment to democracy.

Referring to Modi’s tour to Israel last year, Netanyahu said he was the first Indian leader to visit in over 3,000 years.

“I want to tell you that we believe in India as you believe in Israel. May God bless the India-Israel alliance,” he said.

On the threat of extremism, Netanyahu called for strengthening the relationship between the two democracies. “Our way of life is being challenged by radical Islam and extremists from a variety of sources,” he said.

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