India is in talks with Israel to conclude a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The two countries are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and are also negotiating an FTA.
Relations between the two countries began after the establishment of Israel in 1948. These relations became stronger with the establishment of full diplomatic relations in the year 1992.
In the year 2017, the Indian Prime Minister made the first visit to Israel. In the meantime, the relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership.
Key areas of cooperation:
- Economic: India is Israel’s third largest trading partner in Asia and the seventh largest globally.
- Agriculture: The two countries have signed a three-year program (Year 2021-2023) for Development in Agricultural Cooperation. This program will benefit the local farmers of both the countries.
- Defense and Security: Israel has been one of the top three arms suppliers to India for the last five years.
- Cultural Relations: There are about 85,000 Jews of Indian origin living in Israel.
- Relations with Palestine and Iran are of significant concern in the foreign policies of both the countries.
- To address these issues, India is following a de-hyphenated policy. In this policy, relations with one country are taken forward, while the complexities of its relations with other countries are neglected.
About the FTA
- FTA is an agreement between two or more countries. In this, the barriers (such as tariffs, quotas etc.) to imports and exports are removed.
- This is in contrast to trade protectionism or economic separatism. At present India wants to do TA with 5 countries United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Israel.
Source – The Hindu
