New Delhi [India], February 24 (ANI): Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, on Tuesday, met a delegation from Israel who are in India for the first round of India-Israel Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations and said these mark an important step towards enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

He said in a post on X that FTA negotiations aim at creating greater opportunities for businesses and people on both sides.

'Met a delegation from Israel today, visiting India for the first round of India-Israel Free Trade Agreement negotiations (23rd-26th February 2026). The FTA negotiations mark an important step towards enhancing India-Israel bilateral trade & economic cooperation, aimed at creating greater opportunities for businesses and people on both sides,' he said.

The first round of negotiations for the India-Israel Free Trade Agreement (FTA) commenced in New Delhi on Monday and is scheduled to take place until February 26.

During this round, technical experts from both sides will engage in sessions covering various aspects of FTA such as trade in goods, trade in services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, customs procedure and trade facilitation, intellectual property rights, among others, Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a release.

During the opening session, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal underscored that the FTA negotiations had begun at an opportune moment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel on 25-26th February, 2026.

Agrawal underscored the significant opportunities available to both sides in sectors such as innovation, science and technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, high-tech manufacturing, agriculture, and services.

He emphasised that the FTA will enable both countries to harness and fully leverage these opportunities.

Chief Negotiator of India, Ajay Bhadoo, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, reiterated the significance of this engagement for the two countries and encouraged both sides to work on a balanced agreement to build a forward-looking framework for an evolving partnership, the release said.

Chief Negotiator of Israel for the FTA, Yifat Alon Perel, Senior Director Trade Policy & Agreements and Deputy Trade Commissioner, Foreign Trade Administration, Ministry of Economy and Industry, Israel, expressed that the two countries shared a close relationship, and that the FTA has the potential to strengthen supply chains, enhance cooperation and open new markets for both countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a State visit to Israel on February 25-26.

This will be his second visit to Israel, following his 2017 trip when he became the first-ever Indian Prime Minister to visit the country.

During the visit, PM Modi will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two leaders will review the significant progress made in the India-Israel Strategic Partnership and discuss further opportunities in various areas of cooperation, including science and technology, innovation, defence and security, agriculture, water management, trade and economy, and people-to-people exchanges.

Israeli Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, on Monday said that Israel is excited to welcome PM Modi this week, noting that the two nations will move forward decisively during his visit.

He said that both India and Israel were moving towards a Free Trade Agreement, and it could get finalised this year.

During Piyush Goyal's visit in November 2025, the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the launch of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and Israel were signed.

During the visit of Finance Minister of Israel Bezalel Smotrich to India in September 2025, a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) was signed to expand economic cooperation, protect investors and boost cross-border investments, laying the foundation for deeper ties and potential FTA discussions.

Total merchandise trade between the two countries stood at USD 3.62 billion in FY 2024-2025. India and Israel share complementarities across several sectors, and the FTA will be a catalyst to further enhance the bilateral trade by providing certainty and predictability to businesses, including MSMEs. (ANI)