Indian Group with Close Ties to Israel Operates in Lebanon

The Indian Mahindra industrial group has been granted a consultative role by the United Nations on building three industrial cities in Lebanon but the $16.9 billion global federation of companies has huge activities in Israel and some in the military field, al-Akhbar daily reported on Tuesday.

According to the website of Mahindra group, which is based in Mumbai, Mahindra Special Services Group has been selected by The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute (IEICI) as its Homeland Security (HLS) partner.

Israel's HLS industry has initiated and implemented homeland security solutions and know how acquired through decades of combating internal security and terror threats.

IEICI is an Israeli government agency that works under the supervision of the Labor Ministry, said al-Akhbar.

In April 2015, Information technology group Tech Mahindra also partnered with U.S.-Israeli Comverse Inc to set up a research and development center in Israel.

The venture into Israel by Tech Mahindra, which is part of the $16.5 billion Mahindra conglomerate that employs 200,000 people in 100 countries, was the latest sign of booming ties between the countries since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.

Al-Akhbar warned that the consultation role played by Mahindra in Lebanon paves way for the country's enemies to operate freely in Lebanese territories.

Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, a Hizbullah member, told the newspaper that his ministry has not been involved in the negotiations with Mahindra.

“We should make sure that there is a contract between the company and the Israeli army before taking any step,” he said.

“If we find out that the firm has such relations, then we will contact the United Nations Industrial Development Organization," the minister added.

UNIDO said in January that it launched together with the Industry Ministry the project to develop the three industrial zones in the eastern Bekaa Valley and in the South.

The project, funded by the Italian government, “will focus on helping solve problems relating to business infrastructure, attract investment, foster skilled manpower, and facilitate the growth of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),” it added.

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