India and Israel work towards signing FTA

India has jumped from eighth to second position as the favoured destination for Israeli exports in the first half of 2010, an increase of 102% compared to last year
 
 
India and Israel have agreed to commence talks on signing a financial pact next month to promote bilateral trade and lay the ground work for signing a free trade agreement (FTA).
 
Israeli finance minister, Yuval Steinitz, met his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, in Washington DC on the sidelines of last week's semi-annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank.  The two men agreed to prepare the ground for a free trade agreement betweentheir two countries.
 
Indo-Israel trade has grown from US $200 million in 1992, when diplomatic relations were established between the two nations, with projections of US $5 billion this year.
 
India has jumped from the eighth position to second as the favoured destination for Israeli exports in the first half of 2010, according to Israel's Export and International Cooperation Institute. Israeli exports to India in the first half of this year were worth US $990 million, an increase of 102% compared to last year.
 
India has leaped to become Israel's second largest export destination, only next to close ally the US, as the Jewish state focuses at tapping potential in Asian markets.The reason for this year's sharp jump in exports to India was a 63% leap in shipments by Israel's mining, minerals and quarrying sectors, which exported US $228 million worth of products, mainly fertilizers.One of the biggest exporters to India in this sector was Dead Sea Works, a subsidiary of Israel Chemicals.
 
Exports of electronics equipment, including warfare systems, to India grew from less than US $10 million in the first half of last year to US $160 million this year, the institute reported.
Major exporters in this sector included ECI Telecom and Comverse, TowerJazz, Elbit Systems and Rafael.
 
Israeli exports to India of metals and metal products also increased from US $21 million to US $130 million, a sharp increase of 524%.