Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal met with Israel's Minister of Economy Nir Barkat in Paris on June 3, 2025, where they discussed diversifying the trade basket, fostering innovation, and strengthening cooperation in high-tech and emerging sectors.

This meeting is part of broader efforts to deepen economic ties between India and Israel, focusing on innovation-driven collaboration and expanding trade beyond traditional sectors.

Goyal highlighted the "India Opportunity," emphasizing India's skilled workforce and government's commitment to ease of doing business, which offers promising avenues for foreign firms, including Israeli companies. He encouraged collaboration between Indian and French companies as well, underscoring the role of deeper business engagement in strengthening strategic partnerships.

Israel's Minister Barkat expressed interest in investing in India's infrastructure and supporting initiatives like "Make in India," aligning with India's growth trajectory. Israel's strengths in high-tech industries, agro-tech, food-tech, desert-tech, climate change solutions, defence, and homeland security were noted as highly relevant sectors for cooperation with India.

There is also a prospect of formalizing a mutual investment agreement soon to facilitate deeper economic ties.

During his visit to Paris, Goyal also engaged with other international counterparts and participated in forums such as the India-France Business Conference and CEO Forum, promoting bilateral trade, technology, AI, education, and start-ups cooperation. He reaffirmed India's commitment to a fair, inclusive, and rules-based multilateral trading system in discussions with WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The discussions between Union Minister Goyal and Israel's Economy Minister Barkat reflect a strategic push to diversify trade, foster innovation, and build stronger economic partnerships, particularly in high-tech and emerging sectors, as part of India's broader international economic engagement.

Based On ANI Report