Bilateral Economic Relations
India-Israel Economic and Commercial Relations
1. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel in 1992, bilateral trade and economic relations have progressed rapidly. From US$ 200 million in 1992 (comprising primarily of diamonds), merchandise trade has diversified and reached a peak of US$ 10.77 billion# (excluding defense) in FY 2022-23. In FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25 the bilateral trade (excluding defense) was US$ 6.53 billion and US$3.75 billion respectively, witnessing a decline due to regional security situation and trade route disruption.
2. During the visit of Prime Minister of India to Israel in July 2017, both sides signed and exchanged seven MoUs on cooperation in the areas of innovation, technology, water, agriculture, and space & science. A US$ 40 million India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) for joint projects was also set up.
3. During the visit of Prime Minister of Israel to India in January 2018, the two countries signed nine agreements in various sectors, including cyber security, oil and gas, solar energy, space science, air transport, medicines, and film production.
4. Recent Visits: Recent visits: On September 8-10, 2025, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich led a delegation to India. During the visit, both countries signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement. The Israeli Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Avi Dichter, visited India on April 7-10, 2025. The Israeli Minister for Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat, visited India on February 11-13, 2025, along with a delegation of Israeli CEOs and businesspersons, for the India-Israel CEO Forum and Business Forum. During the visit, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal,(CIM) and Minister Barkat jointly released the India-Israel Joint Postage Stamp on Holi and Purim. CIM and Minister Barkat also met each other on the margins of the OECD WTO Mini Ministerial Meeting in Paris on June 3, 2025. The Israeli Minister for Tourism, Haim Katz, visited India on January 22-30, 2025. He met India’s Minister of Tourism and inaugurated the Israeli pavilion in the OTM India travel fair in Mumbai.
5. From India to Israel, CIM visited Israel on November 20-22, 2025, during which the Terms of Reference for the India–Israel Free Trade Agreement were signed. CIM called on the President of Israel and PM Netanyahu. He also met Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Agriculture and Food Security. He also participated in the 4th India–Israel Business Forum and CEOs Forum. Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh visited Israel on January 13-15, 2026, to participate in the Second Global Summit on “Blue Food Security: Sea the Future 2026” in Eilat. He met Minister of Agriculture and Food Security. A Joint Ministerial Declaration of Intent on cooperation in the field of fisheries and aquaculture was signed during the visit.
6. India is Israel’s second-largest country partner in Asia for merchandise trade. Though bilateral merchandise trade has been dominated mainly by diamonds, petroleum products and chemicals, recent years have witnessed an increase in trade in areas such as electronic machinery and high-tech products; communications systems; medical equipment, etc. India continues to be a 'focus' country for the Israeli Government’s increased trade efforts.
7. Major exports from India to Israel include pearls and precious stones, automotive diesel, chemical and mineral products, machinery and electrical equipment, plastics, textile and apparel products, base metals and transport equipment, agricultural products.
8. Major exports from Israel to India include pearls and precious stones, chemical and mineral/fertilizer products, machinery and electrical equipment, petroleum oils, defense, machinery and transport equipment.
9. Investment
(a) Indian Investments in Israel: Cumulative ODI from India during April 2000 to April 2025 was US$ 443 million*. Indian companies are marking their presence in Israel through mergers and acquisitions and by opening branch offices. TCS, State Bank of India, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, Lohia Group, Adani Group are some major Indian companies which have operations or made acquisitions/investments in Israel. In 2022, a consortium led by India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) acquired the rights to operate the Haifa Port Company Ltd from the Government of Israel with an overall investment of US$ 1.18 billion.
(b) Indian major companies are also making a mark in the Israeli innovation ecosystem. Tata Group, Wipro, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, L&T Technology services, Samvardhana Motherson, Ola Electric, Amber group are some of the major Indian firms that have made notable investments in Israeli startups directly or indirectly through venture capital firms or academic institutions. In March 2021, Indian Oil Corporation Limited launched a JV with Israel’s Phinergy to manufacture aluminium-air battery systems in India and promote green mobility through the development of fuel cells and indigenous hydrogen storage solutions. In February 2024, Indian Oil increased its stake in Phinergy with fresh investment thereby bringing its total investment to $25 million. In June 2024, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries announced the complete merger of Israel’s Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. with its subsidiary, making the Israeli company wholly-owned by Sun Pharma. In September 2024, Samvardhana Motherson revealed strategic investment of US$15 million in REE Automotive Ltd an Israeli company developing electric vehicle (EV) platforms. In July 2025, Amber Enterprises India Ltd has invested $47 million to acquire a stake in Israeli automation and control solutions provider Unitronics,
(c) Israeli investments in India: During April 2000 – March 2024, Israel's direct FDI into India was U.S. $334.2 million. There are over 300 investments from Israel in India mainly in the high-tech domain, agriculture and water. These investments are varied in nature - manufacturing plants; R&D centers; subsidiaries, joint ventures and technology partnerships with Make in India etc. There is a growing preference for Israeli companies in sectors such as renewable energy, water technologies, homeland security, aerospace, defence, health and real estate in addition to traditional areas such as agriculture, cyber, chemicals, etc. Teva Pharmaceuticals, Ecoppia, Naa’n Dan Jain, Aqwise, Polemix, Eli Hajaj, Rivulis, Alumayer, Plasson, Huliot, Metzerplas, Avgol, IDE, Netafim, ADAMA, Mellanox, Dan Hotels, Watergen, Rivulis, Delta Galil, Tadiran Telecom etc. are among the leading Israeli companies which have notable investments in India. Israeli defence companies are increasingly looking to Make-in-India through collaborations and acquisitions.
Cooperation in Agriculture and Water Technologies:
9. Agriculture: In April 2025, India and Israel signed a revised Agreement for cooperation in the field of agriculture, originally signed in 1993. The Agreement provides for cooperation in the fields of soil and water management, horticultural & agricultural production, post-harvest and processing technology, agriculture mechanization, animal husbandry and research & development. Under a comprehensive Work Plan for cooperation in agriculture, signed on 10 May 2006, bilateral projects are implemented through MASHAV Agency for International Development Cooperation under Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs) through 3-year Work Plans developed jointly. MASHAV is active in India with many experimental and demonstration projects and operates an agricultural demonstration farm in Pusa. In May 2023, Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) and MASHAV signed a Declaration of Intent on the establishment of India Israel Innovation Centre for Agriculture (IIICA).
10. Since 2008, a total of five three-year Work Plans have been developed and implemented. Under the bilateral Work Plans, India and Israel have approved the establishment of 43 Centers of Excellence (CoE) in India in the field of flower, vegetable fruit (Mango, Citrus, Litchi, Date Palm, Pomegranates etc) production and beekeeping. A total of 35 CoEs are fully functional in multiple Indian states. The Sixth three-year bilateral Work Plan (2024-2026) is under implementation.
11. The Indo-Israeli Centers of Excellence (CoE) demonstrate Israeli expertise, technologies and innovation in the horticultural field. These CoEs also serve as training centers and as source of planting material for fruits and vegetable seedlings for protected cultivation. Over the years, the bilateral Work Plans have aimed at expanding the existing Centers of Excellence (CoE), establishing new CoEs, increasing CoE’s value chain, bringing the CoEs into the self-sufficient mode, and encouraging private sector companies and collaboration. The Fifth Work Plan also aimed to develop the villages in the periphery of the CoEs into Villages of Excellence (VoE) through knowledge and technology dissemination, and outreach programmes. The concept of Villages of Excellence focusses on creating a complete value chain ecosystem in the villages, adjacent to the CoEs, through creation of modern agriculture infrastructure, capacity building and market linkages. About 190 villages around 22 CoEs in 12 States have been identified for implementation of India Israel VOE programme.
12. Indian officials have been receiving training in Israel from time to time. Indian officials and business delegations regularly attend Israel’s international agricultural exhibitions. In AGRITECH 2018, India’s participation included the Union MoS Agriculture and the Chief Minister of Haryana, apart from official delegations from Uttarakhand and Punjab. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar visited Israel in May 2022. The Israeli Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Avi Dichter visited India in April 2025 and held bilateral discussions with his Indian counterpart. During the Israeli Minister’s visit, both sides agreed on the need to work together on several key areas, including food security, technology transfer, the development of high-quality seeds, the expansion of Centers of Excellence (CoE), advancement of post-harvest technologies, pest management, R&D and capacity building.
13. Water Technologies: Ongoing bilateral cooperation in the sector was formalized through an MOU on Water Resources Management and Development Cooperation signed in November 2016. Under the MoU, a bilateral Joint Working Group on Water oversees bilateral cooperation. During the visit of Prime Minister to Israel in July 2017, both sides signed MoUs on (i) National Campaign for Water Conservation in India and (ii) With UP Government on Reforms of UP Jal Nigam. In October 2018, the State Government of Punjab and Mekorot signed an MoU wherein Mekorot will formulate a Water Conservation and Management Plan for Punjab. Pursuant to this MoU, Punjab and Mekorot signed an Agreement for formulation of Water Conservation and Management Master Plan. A Plan of Cooperation between Israel and the Government of Uttar Pradesh for addressing water issues in the Bundelkhand region was signed in August 2020, after which an Israeli company has worked on the feasibility study in water management in Bundelkhand region. MASHAV has signed joint declarations with the States of Haryana (June 2022) and Rajasthan (December 2024) for cooperation in the field of integrated water resource management and capacity building.
14. In May 2023, India and Israel signed Letters of Intent to establish Centers of Water Technology (CoWT) in the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee respectively. These Centers are expected to focus on water technologies and water resource management in India with the key objective of implementing Israel’s water technologies, tailor-made to Indian requirements, on sustainable management solutions for the Indian water sector.
15. Bilateral water cooperation received an impetus with the first-ever visit by a water minister from India to Israel in November 2019. During the visit, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti, participated in the “India-Israel Strategic Partnership on Water” Symposium along with his Israeli counterpart Dr. Yuval Steinitz, Minister of Energy, and was a keynote speaker at the WATEC 2019. The Minister also held bilateral consultations with his Israeli counterpart and interacted with Israeli experts in the water domain Indian companies and official delegations regularly visit key events in Israel such as WATEC, which showcases Israel’s water and energy technologies. Indian officials have also been receiving training in Israel from time to time.
16. Israeli company IDE has built several desalination plants in India. Mekorot, has provided expertise to concerned organizations in Greater Mumbai and West Bengal. Tahal group signed a US$ 74 million deal with the Karnataka Government to design, construct and operate a water supply system to 131 villages in the State. An Israeli company, Aqwise, has a joint venture with Triveni Engineering that is providing clean drinking water to Uttar Pradesh Jal Board for almost 2 million residents of Agra with a special water treatment plant on the river Yamuna. In 2017, Israeli company, Ayala, won a contract to clean an eight-kilometer stretch along the Yamuna river in Delhi. In 2019, the Metzerplas unit of Metzer Group, Israel’s drip irrigation company, inaugurated a plant in Hyderabad as a joint venture between Metzer India LLP and India’s Skipper Ltd.
Innovation and Science & Technology Cooperation:
17. India-Israel cooperation in Science & Technology (S&T) is overseen by the Joint Committee on S&T, established under Agreement of Science & Technology cooperation signed in 1993. The JCM promotes joint research programmes in select areas of mutual importance through a bilateral mechanism by extending financial support for undertaking joint research activities by Indian and Israeli researchers through various modes viz. i) joint R&D projects; ii) exchange visit of scientists and researchers; and iii) organization of bilateral symposium and workshops. The tenth JCM on Science and Technology was held on July 25, 2022, under which the India-Israel Joint Research Program (IIJRC) 2023 was launched seeking proposals in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) application in climate change and agriculture for food security. The next round of JCM on S&T is due to be held in 2026.
18. Under the bilateral MoU on Industrial Research and Development Initiative, signed in May 2005, the India-Israel Initiative for Industrial R&D (i4RD) was set up to support joint industrial R&D projects, to promote joint development of products or processes leading to commercialization. During the visit of PM Modi to Israel in July 2017, an MoU for establishing the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Innovation Fund (I4F) by the Department of Science and Technology, India, and the National Authority for Technological Innovation, Israel was signed. This MoU, with a contribution of US$ 20 million from each side over 5 years (2018-2022), enabled Indian and Israeli enterprises to undertake joint industrial R&D projects in priority technology sectors such as agriculture, water, energy, healthcare and ICT. Both sides have renewed the I4F programme for a further period of 5 years (2023-27) by making the fund available for joint projects across various fields under four separate tracks (feasibility study; R&D projects; pilot projects; and strategic projects). Thirteen rounds of calls for proposals have been held so far, under which, I4F has funded thirty four projects (under normal calls with grant upto US$ 1 million), including joint projects on low-cost, high-efficiency solar water pumping solutions; drone detection and neutralization system; cellular mobile solutions for digital inclusion and AI-based project for the early detection of tuberculosis. Two Calls for Proposals are currently open for applications, with the submission deadline set for 11 May 2026.
19. In September 2020, Israel’s Startup Nation Central and India's International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology (iCREATE) signed a bilateral program to accelerate innovation and tech cooperation. In May 2023, India and Israel signed an MoU on Industrial Research and Development Cooperation with a focus on key areas under the ambit of Israel’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) and India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. In December 2024, Telangana’s T-Hub partnered with the DDR&D for the launch of DRISHTI (Dual-use Robust India-Israel High-Tech Innovation) program to foster innovation and strategic partnership in advanced technologies with the establishment of Centre of Excellence in T-Hub to host Indian Market Access Program (IMAP).
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Feb 2026
(Sources: #DGCIS trade figures, *DEA ODI Factsheet, &DPIIT FDI Factsheet).
