The first India-Israel HLS (Homeland Security) Cooperation Forum is scheduled to take place in India from 16 to 19 March 2009.

A delegation comprised of 15 leading Israeli companies in the field of homeland security technologies and equipment, led by the Director General of the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute, Mr. Avi Hefetz, will participate in the forum.

The forum will take place in two Indian cities: Mumbai from 16-17 March 2009 and New Delhi from 18-19 March 2009.

The forum will provide a platform for Israeli security companies to exhibit their advanced security systems to the Indian market and also forge new ties by entering into strategic partnerships with key industry leaders.

The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute (IEICI), has selected Mahindra Special Services Group (MSSG), India’s leading Corporate Security Risk Consulting firm, as the Homeland Security (HLS) partner.

The IEICI has appointed the BDO-I2I, a leading Indo-Israeli business consulting firm, as the representative body for the new initiative between IEICI and the Economic Department, Embassy of Israel in New Delhi and the Economic Affairs Department, Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai, Avi Hefetz, CEO of the IEICI, said, “Israel and India share a lot in common and have strong bilateral economic ties.

India today is Israel’s third largest trading partner in Asia and one of the ten most important globally. Israel’s HLS industry has initiated and implemented state of the art homeland security solutions, based on doctrine, experience and know-how acquired through decades of combating internal security and terror threats. I am confident that with the expertise of MSSG and BDO-I2I, Israeli and Indian companies will achieve new heights of success.”

_{(Issue March 2009)}