Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, MK Avi Dichter, met with indian minister of commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, one of the senior decision makers in the trade field in India, who came for a short visit to Israel to promote the trade agreement between the countries. The meeting took place following the signing of the document summarizing the principles of the negotiations with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, prior to the scheduled agreement. During the meeting, the ministers discussed promoting the free trade agreement that includes new opportunities for export of fresh agricultural products from Israel.
In addition, during the meeting, main subjects were raised regarding food security and expanding the agricultural collaborative efforts between the countries. The ministers discussed the budget for the joint research, the continuation of the post-doctoral program for researchers from India at the Volcani Institute, and expanding activity as part of the agricultural centers of excellence operated across India, as a continuation of the agricultural collaboration agreement signed during the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, MK Avi Dichter’s recent trip to India this past April.
During the meeting, a mutual understanding was reached as to the need to quickly promote the negotiations, with the intention of reaching agreements regarding mutual trade benefits. However, both parties emphasized that the main principle in managing the process was to protect the sensitive agricultural products of each country, while promoting the shared interests that are not detrimental to the local production and food security of each of the countries.
The quick progress in the talks with India, especially at this time, stems also from the geopolitical developments in the region and the promotion of the IMEC initiative, which plans to establish an economic land corridor that will connect India, Middle Eastern Countries and the Gulf States, israel and Europe, with U.S. support. The activity of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in strengthening regional contacts, while opening up new trade channels integrates naturally into this broad process and contributes to the India’s high priority for this subject. The Ministry notes that, on the one hand, the IMEC initiative has potential for extensive economic leverage, and on the other hand, the trade agreement is expected to expand the export possibilities for additional countries in the region.
The Ministry notes that the trade agreement between Israel and India is expected to expand the export possibilities, reduce costs, open up new markets for Israeli agriculture and strengthen food security and economic collaboration for both countries. The Ministry will continue to support the negotiations process, with the cooperation of the relevant ministries, in order to complete the work on the agreement in the near future, and to enable both countries to benefit from expanded economic and agricultural connections between the two countries.
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