Israel and India sign bilateral investment pact

The new agreement supports the promotion of reciprocal investments between the parties, ensuring certainty and protection for investors, and will contribute to expanding trade and investment. It replaces the previous agreement signed in 1996, which was terminated in 2017 as part of India’s policy with reference to its investment treaties.

A delegation of officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Securities Authority led by Smotrich is in India to promote a range of economic collaborations. Other members of the delegation are: Director General Ilan Rom, Chief Economist Dr Shmuel Abramzon, Accountant General Yahli Rothenberg and Chairman of the Israel Securities Authority, Seffy Zinger.

Belonging to far-right Religious Zionist Party, 45-year-old Smotrich is known for controversial statements, including his statement in May this year where he had said that within half a year, the population of Gaza Strip would be confined to just a narrow swath of land, with the remainder of the enclave “totally destroyed”. Recently, he unveiled a proposal for Israel to annex 82 per cent of the West Bank in response to a range of Western countries’ plan to recognise a Palestinian state.

The Israeli Finance ministry said that in the meeting, the two ministers emphasised the “profound economic relations between the two countries, which are based on shared strategic interests, as well as their commitment to advancing economic cooperation in the fields of innovation, infrastructure development, financial regulation, and trade in digital services. It was also agreed to cooperate within the framework of regional development banks”.

Smotrich invited Sitharaman for a reciprocal visit to Israel. In addition, both sides agreed to jointly examine the establishment of a bilateral financial protocol.

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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