Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has strongly endorsed India’s economic trajectory, dismissing recent criticism by US President Donald Trump who described India as a “dead economy.”

In an interview with ANI, Smotrich described the Indian economy as “fascinating” and attributed its resilience and dynamism to key reforms undertaken under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He highlighted that the reformist approach promoting free markets, competition, and regulatory easing has already delivered tangible results, and with India maintaining an average annual growth rate of around 6 percent, the momentum is expected to further accelerate in the coming years.

His remarks came notably in response to President Trump’s comments on July 31, in which the US leader downplayed economic ties by pointing to high Indian tariffs and alleging weak trade engagement, saying Washington had “done very little business with India.”

Smotrich’s words carry weight as they were made against the backdrop of positive official data on India’s economic performance. On August 29, the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) reported that India’s real GDP grew 7.8 percent in the April–June quarter of the financial year 2025–26, an improvement over the 6.5 percent recorded in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

This performance, coming amid global economic headwinds, has reinforced India’s image as a high-growth economy navigating geopolitical complexities with relative stability.

For Israel, which sees India as an increasingly important strategic, technological, and economic partner, Smotrich’s remarks signal both recognition of India’s growth fundamentals and a willingness to build closer bilateral cooperation.

Official assessments further underscore that India is now the world’s fourth-largest economy and is firmly on track to become the third-largest by 2030 with a projected gross domestic product of USD 7.3 trillion.

This aspiration is underpinned by a mix of decisive governance, structural reforms to boost ease of doing business, a push for digital transformation, growing infrastructure investment, and pro-market policies designed to integrate more deeply with global trade flows.

Moreover, India’s active engagement in multilateral forums and strengthening of strategic partnerships with countries like Israel, Japan, and several ASEAN members has fortified investor confidence. The positive feedback loop from foreign investment, domestic consumption, and policy drive is also creating the conditions for sustained momentum.

Smotrich’s framing of India’s economy as not only “alive” but advancing aligns with a broader counter-narrative to sceptics questioning India’s economic rise.

While Trump’s characterisation pointed to ongoing irritants in the US–India trade relationship — particularly on tariff barriers and alignment with Russia — Israel’s finance minister presented a markedly different view, focusing instead on India’s institutional reforms and performance metrics as indicators of vitality.

Experts note that such recognition bolsters India’s case internationally as it continues to press for greater investment inflows, deeper global trade integration, and a position as a central growth engine in the global economy at a time when several developed economies are battling stagnation.

Based On ANI Report