国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon kicked off a ground-breaking visit to India Tuesday promising to build closer ties, a move that has raised concerns in neighboring Pakistan.

"We regard India as one of the most important countries in the world," Sharon said during an official welcome at the red sandstone presidential palace in New Delhi.

"I believe this visit, the first by an Israeli prime minister, will help us move forward," he said.

Pakistan has expressed concern over Sharon's visit, saying increased defense cooperation between its nuclear rival and Israel could destabilize the region.

Sharon's 150-strong delegation includes several defense industry executives and the warming ties are underpinned by booming sales of Israeli defense equipment of up to $2 billion a year.

This, combined with a growing India-Israel-U.S. axis, worries Islamabad and has stirred fears among India's minority Muslims, who are planning protests during Sharon's tour.

"If this axis is directed against Muslims all over the world and if this axis is directed against Pakistan and Pakistani Muslims, we would be most concerned as this would be a negative development," a Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Islamabad, which does not recognize the Jewish state.

"The other dimension we are worried about is the growing Indo-Israeli defense cooperation. This has a destabilizing effect on the region and we are deeply concerned about it."

The visit is expected to yield defense deals including the sale of a more than $1 billion Israeli airborne early warning radar system. The three Phalcon radars New Delhi wants would put large parts of Pakistan under Indian surveillance.

Israeli officials accompanying Sharon said they did not expect the Phalcon deal to be signed during the four-day visit, but hoped it would be finalized in the next two weeks.

India also wants to buy the $2.5 billion anti-ballistic Arrow missile system from Israel, but has yet to win U.S. approval.

Washington sources cited concern that an Arrow-armed India could prod Pakistan into expanding its ballistic arsenal and create a repeat of last summer's nuclear stand-off in the subcontinent, when the two nations came close to a fourth war.

Sharon arrived late Monday night and was welcomed at Tuesday's ceremony by his Indian counterpart, Atal Behari Vajpayee, whom he invited to Israel.

Security was tight, with roadblocks and checkpoints across the city. Streets around the palace were closed to traffic.

Close

Today's Top News		Top International News
+FDI 'magnet' set to draw record sum ( 2003-09-09) +Singapore man tests positive for SARS ( 2003-09-09) +Beijing-Shanghai fast rail link on track ( 2003-09-09) +Carmakers ink billion euro pact ( 2003-09-09) +Few people do it, but wife swapping agrees with some ( 2003-09-09)		+India, Israel boost ties; Pakistan nervous ( 2003-09-09) +Singapore fears possible SARS case, seals off wards ( 2003-09-09) +US fighter jet crashes in South Korea ( 2003-09-09) +US lawmakers backing Bush's US$87b war request ( 2003-09-09) +NASA targets March launch for space shuttle ( 2003-09-09)