India and Israel are expected to sign several MoUs next week to boost bilateral trade with a focus on agritech, energy, tourism and healthcare during Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s visit to New Delhi, a top Israeli trade body official has said. Cohen, who will be on a three-day visit to India from May 9 to 11, will also inaugurate a “Jewish trail” in Mumbai.
A business delegation of 25 multi-sectoral companies will be accompanying the Israeli foreign minister during his trip to explore opportunities, along with members of leading economic organisations who will be signing MoUs with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Anat Bernstein-Reich, President of the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce, told PTI.
Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce, The Israeli Manufacturers Association (IMA) and the Israeli Export Institute will all be signing MoUs with CII.
“The growing trade relations between Israel and India require a stronger collaboration between the economic organisations of the two sides. CII has been a close friend of our Chamber and we are planning to host several of their delegations in the near future. As part of the I2U2 programme, we hosted in Israel a delegation of CII from UAE and India. We are planning an I2U2 event in India soon”, Bernstein-Reich said. From a humble beginning of USD 200 million in bilateral trade (primarily in diamonds) in 1992 when full diplomatic relations were established between the two countries, merchandise trade has diversified and reached USD 7.86 billion (excluding defence) during the period 2021–2022.
In addition, bilateral trade in services in 2021 was USD 1.1 billion and in FY 2022-23 bilateral merchandise trade from April to December 2022 stood at USD 8.09 billion (excluding defence).
I2U2, a quad comprising India, Israel, UAE and the United States was unveiled during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Israel in October 2021 and since then it has held several meetings, including one in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated along with the top leaders of the other three countries involved.
The quad has indicated a firm commitment to enhancing the economic interests of the involved nations by putting in place projects related to ensuring food security and strengthening the renewable energy sector. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier this week conducted the India Forum with the participation of several ministries with the aim of enhancing governmental coordination leading to a larger trade, innovation, tourism and cultural collaboration, Bernstein-Reich said.
