‘Make-in-India makes sense’: Israel pushes for stronger investment ties with India

Azar identified rapid transit systems as a potential area for collaboration. “India has already built 1,000 kilometres of top-notch metro. In Israel, we are going to build 100 kilometres of metro (in the Tel Aviv area). We can have the benefit of Indian companies coming to Israel,” Azar added.

Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat said an investment agreement could be signed in line with the Make-in-India initiative.

“We are also seeking how to help invest in infrastructure and in companies that are going to do Make-in-India. We want to help boost growth in India, aligned with the strategy of Prime Minister Modi and Minister Piyush Goyal on Make-in-India. This is something that makes sense for Israeli companies,” Barkat told The Indian Express.

Ambassador Azar stressed on the need to finalise terms to “remove the obstacles for trade and get an agreement that will help companies to remove tariffs, to connect digitally our customs, and to do all that is necessary for creating more business.”

The summit, organised in collaboration with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), hosted the largest-ever Israeli business delegation to any country.

More than 500 meetings were held between Indian and Israeli companies across sectors such as defence, renewables, agriculture, and artificial intelligence (AI).

“My expectation is to have another delegation coming from India to Israel where we can have multiple meetings and at the tail end of that process, know how to help those companies, both Indian and Israeli, do more business. The two governments are aligned to make very strong, successful business-to-business relationships,” Barkat said.

Barkat underscored that with over 10,000 start-ups, Israel is among the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. “We excel in classic high-tech, agro-tech, food-tech, aqua-tech, desert-tech and climate change. We are very powerful in defence and homeland security and in advanced industries. We find those business clusters are very relevant for India,” he said.

At the summit, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal highlighted ‘10 Ds’ that define the India opportunity – democracy, demographic dividend, diversity, digitalisation, decarbonisation, determination, development, dependability, decisiveness, and demand.

“I think demand defines the India story… Show me any other country in the world where you can sell 250 million washing machines, maybe in the next 10-15 years, or 250 million refrigerators, television sets, or better smartphones… That’s the demand potential that India has,” Goyal said.

Ambassador Azar stressed that while cooperation between India and Israel in agriculture and irrigation has been positive, a lot more can be done in the high-tech domain. “Israel exports innovation. India can give all the benefits in the entire economic chain – R&D, sourcing, manufacturing, commercialization, everything,” he explained.

On the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which passes through Israel, Barkat said the Israeli government is committed to making it happen.

“We want to make that come alive. I think we have a nice and beautiful opportunity to make that happen. And I’m sure that Mr. Adani, who is one of the owners of the ports in Haifa, is waiting for that opportunity,” he added.

In 2022, the Adani group, together with Israel’s Gadot group, had acquired the strategic Israeli port of Haifa for $1.2 billion.

India exported goods worth $4.5 billion to Israel in 2023-24, led by petroleum products ($2.3 billion), gems and jewellery ($792 million), and engineering goods ($472 million).

Imports from Israel stood at $2 billion, mostly electrical machinery and equipment and pearls, precious, or semi-precious stones.

Between April 2000 and March 2024, foreign direct investment from Israel amounted to just $315 million, mainly in the high-tech domain, agriculture, and water.