NEW DELHI, Jan 16 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inaugurated the third edition of the geo-political conference, �Raisina Dialogue�, here today and laid stress on the need to develop economic, military and political powers to emerge as a strong nation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also attended the inaugural session.
Delivering his inaugural address, the Israeli premier appreciated the efforts being made by the Narendra Modi government to cut bureaucratic red tape and improve ease of doing business.
Netanyahu, on a six-day visit to India, said a government can both facilitate and block economic growth. Growth is possible when there is a free market which facilitates innovation by business entities, he said.
He said that to defend a nation, one needs a strong military which in turn requires a lot of money. The money, he said, comes from a strong economy. The event, jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research Foundation (ORF), is a multilateral conference aimed at addressing challenging issues globally. The theme of the dialogue this year is �Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions and Idioms�. � PTI
