India is Israel’s second-largest trade partner in Asia. Before this, the two countries were involved in negotiating a similar agreement, and eight rounds of talks were held.
India and Israel on Thursday agreed to restart negotiations on a long-discussed free trade pact, officials said.
“Together with Nir Barkat, Minister of Economy and Industry of Israel, I signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) to guide the negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Israel today,” Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on X.
“This is the first crucial step towards facilitating talks to conclude a balanced, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial FTA to strengthen and enhance our trade, economic, and strategic partnership,” said Goyal, following a bilateral meeting in Tel Aviv.
“Our joint aim is to diversify and enhance bilateral trade, creating a larger market by identifying new areas of cooperation while addressing sensitivities across various sectors,” he added.
The signed framework, which will be the basis for talks, includes market access goods by eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers, investment facilitation, simplification of customs procedures, increasing cooperation for innovation and technology transfer, and easing norms to promote trade in services.
Before this, the two countries were involved in negotiating a similar agreement and eight rounds of talks were held.
India-Israel bilateral trade so far
India is Israel’s second-largest trade partner in Asia and seventh-largest globally, according to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Trade between the two countries has leapt since they established diplomatic relations in 1992, rising from about $200 million (€173 million), driven largely by diamonds, to a peak of $10.77 billion in 2022-23.
But it plummeted by as much as two-thirds from that high — a decline officials say is due to regional security tensions and disruptions to shipping routes.