By 2007, Indian Israel bilateral trade will reach $5b

Minister of Industry Trade and Labor Mr. Ehud Olmert said last week at the end of a ministerial visit to India that the Indian government had publicly told him that relations with Israel would continue at their current high profile. Mr. Olmert met during the visit seven Indian ministers.
 
According to Olmert the Indian government expressed its willingness to reach a general R&D cooperation agreement with Israel, and to exempt certain goods from customs duties. Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Mr. Shri Kamal Nath predicted that the agreement will boost bilateral trade to $5 billion a year within three years, compared with the current $2 billion.
 
Olmert described the week long business discussions highly successful. He added that although there had been no expectations that contracts would be signed within the trade delegation's visit, the groundwork was laid for expanding bilateral trade relations.