India and Israel agreed to resume talks on a free trade agreement from November, with the aim of signing a deal by mid-2022, both countries said on Monday.
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Ties between the two countries have grown closer in the seven years since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been in power, and a number of strategic, military and technology partnerships have been formed during that time.
Free trade talks were announced after the countries' foreign ministers met in Jerusalem, where they also agreed on mutual recognition of vaccination certificates and expanded cooperation in water and agriculture, the countries said in a statement.
"We are continuing with our policy of connections, and we have seen in India a very important ally for many years. India also brings with it new opportunities for cooperation," Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said.
India aims to sign new trade deals with several countries including Australia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Canada, to boost exports and help the country recover faster from its coronavirus-induced slowdown.
The trade of goods and services between the two countries stood at $4.67 billion by the end of last financial year ending in March, 2021, according to data from India's Trade Ministry.
On Tuesday, Indian Foreign Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met with the presidents and senior leadership of Israeli universities to discuss the expansion of academic ties between the two countries.
He also met with a group of Indian students studying in Israel to hear about their experiences and suggestions on how to expand student mobility, according to a press release from Tel Aviv University (TAU), which hosted the meetings. Currently, there are some 1,000 Indians studying in Israel, around half of them post-doctoral students.
Jaishankar said that the universities played a "significant role" in strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries, and that much potential remains to boost ties in many fields, including technology and innovation. India, he said, is "committed to finding new ways to expand our relationship," and "the challenge before us is how to scale it up and shift it to the next gear."
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Noting the upcoming 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Tel Aviv University President Ariel Porat said that his university views India as a "strategic priority."
"We see great potential in expanding our partnerships with leading academic institutions and industry in India," he added.
JNS.org contributed to this report.
