Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived in New Delhi Monday night on a four-day official visit that is being termed as "historic" by political analysts in New Dehli.

This is the first time for an Israeli prime minister to visit India since the two countries established diplomatic relations in1992.

Heading a 124-member delegation including top representatives of Israeli defense industries, Sharon will hold wide-ranging discussions with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tuesday on arange of bilateral, regional and international issues. 

Prime Minister Vajpayee Monday voiced confidence that the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to India would pave the way for further consolidating bilateral ties, and said there was no dilution of the country's stand on the Palestinian issue.

"Our relations will be further strengthened," he told reporters when asked how he viewed the four-day landmark visit of Sharon.

Asked whether there was any dilution by India of the  Palestinian cause, the prime minister said, "We have taken a principled stand on it."

The two sides are negotiating a joint statement that is expected to reflect concerns over terrorism, perceptions on West Asia as also focus on bilateral economic cooperation. 

There are six new agreements expected in areas of environment,drug trafficking, visas for officials and medical research.

Meanwhile, Bharat Karnad of the Center for Policy Research said,"There is new military convergence and strategic basis for security which require India and Israel to combat common sources of threat like Islamic extremism and terrorism and look out for common interests spanning the Mediterranean to South East Asia."

Israel is India's second largest market for defense equipment after Russia, but New Delhi insists trade and not defense will define Sharon's visit.

The Israeli prime minister's visit is also expected to be useful in pushing through India's huge defense shopping list.

India badly needs the 1 billion US dollars Israeli air born yearly-warning and control Phalcon systems apart from unmannedaerial vehicles, Arrow anti-missile system technology, ship based surface-to-air missile Barak, and an early warning radar and sensory gear for troops in high altitude.

Left parties and a number of Muslim organizations have opposed the Israeli leader's visit, terming it as a seal on the reversalof India's traditional support for the rights of the Palestinian people, and threatened to stage demonstrations during the visit.

With India continuing its balancing act on its Middle East policy, New Delhi is looking at a multi-pronged approach of deepening its relations with Israel while sticking to its long-standing commitment to the Palestinian cause.

Senior officials said that India has no intention of mediating between the two warring sides. But this does not prevent it from raising Palestinian concerns over the "Road Map" during the parleys, they contended.

During his recent visit here, Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath had urged India to impress upon Sharon that continued violence against Palestinians would not help in the implementation of the "Road Map."

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2003)