Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Thursday met Israeli Ambassador to India, Ron Malka, in New Delhi and held discussions on the potential areas of co-operation between Tripura and Israel in various sectors — water and irrigation management and on security and a high surveillance system.

A press release from the chief minister’s office on Friday said, “The chief minister held discussions on the potential areas of co-operation between Tripura and Israel in various sectors — water and irrigation management, security and high surveillance system, food processing, packaging, cold storage and technology transfer, agricultural increase through groundwater management, cultural and tourism promotion and advanced technology to maintain historical sites and temples. Dr Malka has expressed his interest towards Tripura and agreed to visit the state along with a team of Israel to study the aspects of the topics discussed in the meeting.”

The chief minister also tweeted, “Had a very fruitful discussion with Dr. Ron Malka, Israel Ambassador to India regarding potential areas of Co-operation Between Israel and Tripura which includes water management, security and surveillance system, food processing, packaging, cold storage and technology transfer, cultural and tourism promotion, agriculture and groundwater management. He expressed his interest towards Tripura and showed his willingness to visit Tripura with his team soon.”

Referring to the dearth of irrigation and its an adverse impact on farm productivity, Deb said the techniques available with Israel in the fields of micro-irrigation, drip irrigation, soil moisture conservation, solar pumps, sewage treatment, water treatment, water recycling and reuse, centralised water planning and pricing can help address the issue of water shortage and help Tripura in increasing the farm productivity and providing safe drinking water to people of Tripura.

Deb also held a discussion on the food-processing industry on Tripura and said this sector can be assisted by means of technology transfer and in food processing methodologies, which include development of innovative products such as meatless, sugar free, organic and specialty foods that have a worldwide market.

He also highlighted investment in the industry, cold storage, packaging, labelling and marketing as the other potential areas of co-operation.

The chief minister spoke of challenges being faced by the agriculture sector following lack of capital with the local people, lack of investors and poor technology available in fields such as packaging, branding, cold storage, preservation.

The discussion also included cultural and tourism promotion and advanced technology to maintain historical sites and temples.

A senior official said Tripura shares a 856km international boundary with Bangladesh and as 67km is still unfenced, this high-end surveillance would prove helpful for more effective border management.