Israel-India FTA: Official Negotiations Launch to Boost Bilateral Trade

A strategic step to deepen economic relations between Israel and India: An official delegation from the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry will depart this coming Monday for New Delhi to open the first round of talks for the establishment of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries. The meeting is a direct continuation of the framework agreement signed last November between Minister of Economy Nir Barkat and his Indian counterpart, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.

The Israeli delegation, led by the Foreign Trade Administration, includes a team of experts in the fields of customs, regulation, services, and intellectual property. The primary goal is to formulate a comprehensive agreement that will remove trade barriers, provide a competitive advantage to Israeli industry in one of the world's fastest-growing economies, and strengthen national resilience through the diversification of supply sources. Minister of Economy Barkat noted that this is a "strategic step that will inject billions into the economy" and that relations between the countries are currently at their highest level ever.

India is currently ranked as Israel's second-largest trading partner in Asia, with bilateral trade volume estimated at approximately $5 billion (including goods, services, and diamonds). Despite the impressive growth in Israeli exports to India in recent years, the Foreign Trade Administration estimates that the potential is far from being realized due to trade barriers and some of the highest tariffs in the world currently imposed. The trade agreement is expected to lead to a significant reduction in tariffs on technology products, chemicals, and medical equipment, thereby lowering import costs and improving the competitiveness of Israeli exports.

The Foreign Trade Administration anticipates that once the agreement enters into force, the volume of trade between the countries could grow by billions of dollars within a few years. Beyond the removal of tariffs, the agreement is expected to include the integration of Israeli companies into massive government centers in India as part of the Indian modernization program, which will open new doors for Israeli entrepreneurship in the Asian powerhouse.