The Director of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Economy and Industry, who is responsible for Israel's international trade agreements, is preparing to resume negotiations to establish a free trade agreement between Israel and India - currently Israel's sixth largest trading partner.
The talks will resume against the background of an agreement between the Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Industry, Dr. Ron Malka, and his Indian counterpart, and on the basis of the agreements reached between Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his Indian counterpart Dr. Jaishenkar, at a meeting ten days ago in Jerusalem.
India, with a population of 1.3 billion, has begun negotiations to establish free trade agreements with several countries, including Australia, the European Union and Israel.
A free trade agreement leads to a significant increase in trade between countries.
The director general of the Ministry of Economy and Industry, Dr. Ron Malka, who previously served as Israel's ambassador to India, said that "Israel-India relations have undergone significant and important development in the last 30 years."
NIS 2.1 billion exports
"The unique fabric of relations and trade relations in general have long since transformed from basic trade relations into a bond of strategic partnership," Malka said, explaining: "Water handles the nutritional issues of hundreds of millions of people. We cooperate in cyber, smart transportation, agriculture, space and quantum computing. A free trade agreement, when signed, will provide this excellent cooperation with a significant boost."
The Director of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economy operates in India three economic annexes - in Bangalore, Mumbai and the capital Delhi - and these are at the disposal of the manufacturers, exporters and any business company operating in India and can assist.
Exports of goods and business services to India totaled about $ 2.1 billion in 2020, while imports stood at about $ 1.9 billion that year.