Would be foolish not to have FTA with India, says Israeli Minister Barkat

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Israeli counterpart Netanyahu

India and Israel are working towards resuming talks for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Nir M Barkat, Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry indicated on February 11, adding that "it would be foolish not to do it in the fastest and best way."

"I am sure it is going to happen, because the friendship, collaboration and relationship is so powerful," Barkat said during a media interaction after the India-Israel Business Forum held in New Delhi.

India and Israel had in the past started negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement. The first round of talks for the proposed deal was held in New Delhi back in 2010.

Eight Rounds have been held since, with the eighth one conducted in Israel in 2013.

Back in 2021, India and Israel had reported agreed to resume India negotiations for a FTA between the two.

"With respect to any trade deal between India and Israel, I agreed with the suggestion of Piyush Goyal that let's first get our Missions together and learn from them what they need. After which the next step is to take that knowledge and put some kind of foundation that makes sense for both countries," Barkat added.

Underscoring the importance of the proposed India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), Barkat said, "we are more than happy to collaborate on the IMEEC, which is actually connecting India and Asia to Europe via Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel."

Israel is currently working on expanding the Abraham accords with Saudi Arabia, which is a pre-requisite for starting work on the IMEEC corridor, Barkat added.

The proposal for the IMEEC corridor was firmed up on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in September 2023, in New Delhi. The agreement was signed by India, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the US, and some other G20 partners.

The project is seen as an initiative by like-minded nations to gain strategic influence in the face of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is a mega connectivity project that connects China with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Russia, and Europe.

"Each country is preparing their part of IMEEC, Israel certainly is. We will expand the Abraham accords and we are waiting for that to happen," Barkat added.

At the same media interaction, India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said, "Israel and India sees potential for collaboration in deep-tech, agri-tech, fintech, AI (artificial intelligence), defence, among others.