Goyal Leads 60-Member India Inc Delegation To Israel For Big FTA, Trade Push

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is en route to Israel for a high-stakes push on the long-pending India–Israel Free Trade Agreement (FTA), taking with him one of the largest Indian business delegations to visit the country in recent years.

The three-day visit, which concludes on November 22, is aimed at deepening trade, investment flows and innovation partnerships.

Goyal is accompanied by a 60-member delegation featuring some of India’s biggest names like Mahindra, Amul, Asian Paints, as well as startups and companies across pharma, agritech, defence, construction and e-commerce. He will hold talks with the Minister of Economy and Industry of Israel Nir Barkat.

The mission is clear: accelerate FTA talks that first began in May 2010 and have seen eight rounds so far, with negotiations formally revived in October 2021.

The visit will see a packed schedule of CEO Forum meetings, B2B engagements and sector-focused sessions, expected to translate into real deals and long-term partnerships.

Goyal will participate in the India-Israel Business Forum involving leading business associations and industry representatives from both sides.

New opportunities are expected across high-tech, robotics, EVs, pharma, agritech, water tech, healthcare, defence, and advanced manufacturing — areas where Israel’s tech strengths closely align with India’s industrial and development needs.

In September, both countries inked a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA), under which India has cut down the local remedies exhaustion period for Israeli investors to three years from the earlier five years.

Trade between the two nations stood at $6.5 billion in FY24, though India’s exports to Israel dipped 52% in 2024-25 to $2.14 billion, while imports fell 26.2% to $1.48 billion.

Despite this, Israel remains India’s second-largest trading partner in Asia, with merchandise trade still dominated by diamonds, petroleum products, and chemicals. Recent years, however, have seen momentum in electronics, high-tech products, communication systems and medical equipment.