Bilateral Free Trade Agreement Will Bolster India-Israel trade Relations: Ushpiz

December 08, 2011

New Delhi, 7 December 2011: Israel’s Ambassador to India, Mr Alon Ushpiz stated that India–Israel bilateral trade is expected to rise from the current $5 billion level to $15 bn, if the two sides agree to sign a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Mr Alon Ushpiz was speaking at the 11th Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) – Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) Track-II Dialogue held in New Delhi on 7th December 2011. Three rounds of FTA discussion have been held.

Earlier, Ambassador Chinmaya R. Gharekhan, formerly Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on West Asia and the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP), in his key note address emphasised that there is strong public support among the Indian public for the Palestinian cause, but India–Israel relations, based on mutual benefit, are growing satisfactorily.

Ambassador Ushpiz, while providing details of the Indo-Israeli bilateral relations, observed that differences of opinion on some issues have not affected the bilateral relations. Israel is in the process of setting up seven centres of excellence in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, which will facilitate the transfer of cutting edge agricultural technologies to Indian farmers.

Tourism is also a growing aspect of bilateral relationship. Last year, nearly 40,000 Indians visited Israel. India has been a favourite tourist destination, especially for Israeli youth. In 2010, nearly 50,000 Israeli tourists had come to India.

During 2002–07, India bought $5 bn worth of defence equipment from Israel, whose investments in India have grown to $3 bn.

The two sides had detailed exchange of views on the future of the Arab Spring, the rise of Islamist parties, Middle East Peace Process, Iranian nuclear programme and the US policy. Israeli experts expressed deep concern about Iran’s nuclear programme and its implications for stability in the Middle East. They also discussed the shifting global balance of power, including the rise of China.

West Asia and South Asia are two of the most dynamic sub-regions of the world. They are in the midst of tumultuous changes, which will have great implications for the countries of the region and the world in general. India and Israel are two dynamic, multi-cultural democracies facing similar kinds of threats at either end of the arc stretching across West Asia.

After the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992, bilateral trade has grown to about $5 billion annually (non-defence civilian trade). With the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the pipeline, this is expected to more than double in the near future. Total defence trade is worth more than $ 9 billion. There are vibrant people-to-people interactions, strategic dialogues between the security forces and strategic establishments, among other on-going exchanges between the two countries. Cooperation in science and technology, agriculture, space cooperation among other sectors is also vibrant.

The 11th IDSA-BESA Dialogue offers a unique opportunity for analysts belonging to the two think tanks to analyse the current dynamics in the bilateral relationship, the changing regional strategic environment and its implications for each other, the role of major powers in the region, among other pertinent aspects. The IDSA-BESA Bilateral Dialogues have been one of the longest-running interactions for IDSA since they first began in 1998 in the aftermath of the Kargil War and Israel’s own significant contribution during that critical period in India’s security situation. It is hoped that the current dialogue will continue the productive nature of the interactions to help clarify the evolving strategic environment and its implications for the region and for both the countries.

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Aparna Krishna
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