Having identified India as an emerging market, Israel expects its telecom exports to the country to grow 30 per cent in 2003, from $100 million recorded in the previous year.

"The Israeli telecom exports to India stood at $100 million for the year ended December 2002. We estimate that this will grow 30 per cent this year," Moran Ben Yair, executive - telecommunication and software, Israel Export and International Co-operation Institute, said on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, in New Delhi.

While the global telecom market had witnessed a slowdown, Indian communications market was showing an impressive growth, Yair said.

"We see India as an emerging market in telecom. Each year we identify a target country, and this time India and China are the target markets for us in terms of telecom," he said.

He said the telecom export growth in 2002 over 2001 had also been to the tune of 30 per cent.

The major exporters include Alvarion, ECI Telecom Ltd, and Audio Codes, he said.

"We had expected the telecom market in India to grow and we were proved right. Government's policies and stiff competition has fuelled growth in the market," he added.

The Israel Export and International Co-operation Institute, supported by over 2,600 members firms, private sector bodies and Government of Israel, is aimed at advancing business relationship between Israeli exporters and overseas businesses and organisations.