India, Israel Conclude First FTA Talks; Agri & UPI Focus

• India and Israel completed the first round of FTA talks, covering sectors like agriculture, AI, and linking UPI with Israel’s fast payment system
• Discussions addressed trade rules, IP, digital trade, and non-tariff barriers during PM Modi’s visit to Jerusalem to promote Israeli investment
• Bilateral trade is $3.6B; 17 MoUs signed on labor mobility, manufacturing, digital payments, and an India-Israel Agri Innovation Centre

The first round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and Israel ended recently, which strengthened their economic relationship through this achievement.

India Israel FTA talks have gained momentum as both nations advance free trade agreement negotiations aimed at strengthening the India Israel trade agreement framework and boosting bilateral trade India Israel.

The proposed FTA India Israel 2026 roadmap highlights agriculture trade India Israel, UPI collaboration Israel, digital payments India Israel, and deeper India Israel economic cooperation under an expanding India Israel commerce partnership.

Narendra Modi stated, “We discussed giving new direction and greater momentum to our cooperation. This includes economic and trade linkages. We have decided to establish a critical and emerging technologies partnership. This will accelerate cooperation in many futuristic areas. Agriculture is a key area where India and Israel are working closely”.

The discussions established a structured framework to guide future negotiations, while agricultural emerging technologies and artificial intelligence development remained the main focus areas.

The two countries decided to test whether India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system could work together with Israel's fast payment system to create better economic links between their nations.

Also Read: India, Israel Start FTA Talks; Goyal Meets Delegation

The negotiations encompassed numerous subjects, which included trade for both goods and services and rules about product origin and intellectual property rights, digital commerce, customs operations and all technical barriers to international trade.

The two sides also addressed non-tariff barriers to trade. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his two-day visit to Jerusalem, which features this development, because he wants to tell Israeli businesses to invest in AI, quantum computing, healthcare, cyber security, water resource management and agricultural development.

Negotiation talks on the FTA, which had remained inactive since 2010, resumed their activities in November. The two countries exchanged goods worth 3.6 billion dollars, which included a large portion of their diamond and jewelry trade between them.

The India-Israel Financial Dialogue and the MoU between NPCI International (NIPL) and MASAV Israel for UPI-based cross-border remittance services demonstrate special attention to the finance sector.

The two countries have signed 17 MoUs to establish partnerships in multiple fields, which include labor mobility, manufacturing and the India-Israel Innovation Centre for Agriculture.