Indian companies can feel secure investing in Israel: Finance Min Smotrich on India-Israel bilateral investment treaty

India and Israel signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) on Monday. The treaty was signed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Israeli counterpart Bezalel Smotrich. The BIA was signed in the presence of the Israeli delegation comprising of senior officers from the Israeli Government and senior officers from India.

"The bilateral investment agreement that I signed today with the Indian Minister of Finance gives a strong tailwind for private companies to come and invest in each other's economies...Indian companies can feel completely secure investing in Israel and Israeli companies can feel secure investing in India...," Smotrich told ANI.

"The joint economic potential of Israel and India is tremendous. It sits on these very same values of democracy, freedom of religion, and human dignity, and democracy... Both of our governments highly encourage these investments and create an ecosystem that gives security and insurance for these investments years ahead...," he added.

In the next few months, the two countries will complete the process of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Israel's Finance Minister spoke to Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal about the same.

Our joint teams are working on forming the exact formula for FTA to happen. I am sure that we will together find the relative advantages of each side that will allow each side to get what it wants from this agreement... I believe that in the coming months, we will complete the process, Smotrich told ANI.

"The volume of trade (between the two countries) has doubled in recent years. We can multiply it by three or four times. No reason that it shouldn't happen...," he said.

The BTA between India and Israel is expected to boost investments, provide greater certainty and protection for investors, facilitate the growth of trade and mutual investments by ensuring a minimum standard of treatment, and an independent dispute resolution mechanism through arbitration.

"The agreement is expected to pave the way for increased bilateral investments between the two countries, which presently stands at total of USD 800 million, thereby benefiting businesses and economies in both countries," the government said in a release.

Sitharaman mentioned that both sides should have more business interaction to explore opportunities of investments, to gain benefits from the signed BTA.

The Israeli Finance Minister emphasised the need for greater collaboration between two nations in the field of cybersecurity, defense, innovation and high-technology sectors.

During the agreement signing ceremony, both the ministers emphasised their commitment to advancing economic cooperation in the fields of fintech innovation, infrastructure development, financial regulation, and digital payment connectivity. They agreed to enhance economic and financial cooperation between the two countries and to promote and protect investments on a reciprocal basis.