Israel minister for economy and industry Nir Barkat said Israel wants to take business and trade ties with India to the next step and not limit it to a free trade agreement (FTA).
“I’m here to propose and to see how we could take it to the next step, not just free trade agreement, but actually do a lot of business development together,” Barkat told CNN-News18 and pointed out that Israel’s innovation in agrotech, food-tech and creating food from the sea are well known.
“I’m here to also look at how we can focus on training and get more and more people involved in future jobs versus older jobs,” he said, referring to the challenge traditional jobs are facing from new-age technologies.
Israel witnessed protests over the past few weeks as civil society groups protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed judicial reforms. The government has halted the reforms following weeks of protests and strikes, forcing the government to put the reforms agenda on the back burner.
The protests have affected the business friendly image of the country and global rating agency Moody’s downgraded Israel’s ratings in the aftermath of the protests. “Israel is an amazing democracy, and I’m very proud of our democracy”, says Barkat, a former mayor of Jerusalem.
“The fact that people are willing to go out to the streets because they care about democracy. So the potential is not going to change, anybody and everyone who invested in Israel in the past gained a lot. And I strongly recommend people to look at Israel as one of the best investments people can make in the world,” Barkat said, while comparing the recent wave of protests to the ongoing protests against pension reforms in France or the 2016 Brexit protests.
Barkat also said that the growth Israel has with India, the US and the UAE, is more compared to the growth it witnessed with other countries. Israel, India, the US and the UAE are part of the I2U2 group. The I2U2 group of nations aim to enhance trade cooperation and investment among the group members.
“The growth we have with India and the UAE and the US is far greater than the growth we have with other countries. The infrastructure of government to government promotion translates to more and more business and more trade, which is good,” Barkat explained, also outlining how government to government growth has helped business and investment grow.
The summit level talks of the I2U2 group were held in July 2022 and in February this year vice ministers of the I2U2 group of nations met in Abu Dhabi. The delegations of the member nations discussed potential partnerships in the fields of food security, energy, water, space, transport, health and technology.
Speaking of India-Israel trade ties, which hovers around $10billion and is expected to increase if both nations agree on a FTA deal, Barkat said the ties continue to strengthen because of the friendly relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Netanyahu.
The minister said their personal chemistry led to the signing of several deals between the two countries especially in the sectors like defence and advanced technology.
Speaking of Israel’s Prime Minister’s potential visit to New Delhi, the minister said he will recommend Netanyahu to plan a visit soon. “I’m going to meet my Prime Minister and will strongly recommended to come and visit. I want to work with your ministers and boost our chances of success and (explore more) opportunities for the future,” Barkat said.
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