Next round of India-Israel FTA talks to be a game changer, says diplomat

NEW DELHI: The next round of negotiations for the FTA between India and Israel will be held here in November and the pact would be a "strategic game changer" in trade relations of both the two countries, a top diplomat said.

India and Israel, which commenced the negotiations in 2007, had concluded the seventh round of talks in June.

"We are going to have another (round of talks) in November in New Delhi," Israel's ambassador to India Alon Ushpiz told PTI.

Ushpiz said the forthcoming visit of the Israeli Economy Minister would also give an opportunity to push forward the trade agreement.

"The FTA is tremendously important for us because if there is one strategic game changer...it is the FTA," he said adding the pact would "take us beyond where we are".

The Ambassador said the free trade agreement (FTA) will enlarge the trade basket and volume between the two countries.

It would also give an important platform to the private sector of both the countries to explore business opportunities in other countries, he added.

Ushpiz said the main sectors which would get major benefit from the pact included IT, agriculture, communication, clean technology, energy and water management.

"These are the things which can do very nicely," he said.