{"id":53518,"date":"2025-09-09T20:31:44","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T15:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=53518"},"modified":"2025-09-10T11:56:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T06:26:12","slug":"india-israel-bilateral-investment-agreement-bia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/09-09-2025\/india-israel-bilateral-investment-agreement-bia","title":{"rendered":"India-Israel Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India and Israel<\/strong> signed a <strong>Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Israel has become the first OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member state <\/strong>to sign an investment pact under India\u2019s new model treaty framework.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The<strong> BIA replaces<\/strong> the earlier investment treaty signed in <strong>1996<\/strong>, which was terminated in <strong>2017 <\/strong>as part of India\u2019s policy overhaul on such agreements.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Agreement will increase <strong>bilateral investments<\/strong>, which presently stands at a total of <strong>USD 800 million.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The new agreement provides protection for investors while promoting <strong>cross-border investments in key sectors:<\/strong> innovation, infrastructure development, financial regulation, and digital services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The signing of the Agreement<strong> reflects both nations&#8217; shared commitment<\/strong> towards <strong>enhancing economic cooperation.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)<\/strong><br>&#8211; It is an international organisation of <strong>38 countries<\/strong> committed to democracy and the market economy.<br>&#8211; <strong>Founded:<\/strong> In 1961 (evolved from the OEEC \u2013 Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, 1948, which was created to administer the Marshall Plan after WWII).<br>&#8211; <strong>Headquarters:<\/strong> Paris, France.<br>&#8211; <strong>Motto:<\/strong> \u201cBetter Policies for Better Lives\u201d.<br>&#8211; <strong>Official Languages:<\/strong> English and French.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India and Israel Bilateral Relations &amp; Evolving Ties<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bilateral Relations: <\/strong>India announced its recognition of Israel in <strong>1950<\/strong>. Regular embassies opened in <strong>1992 <\/strong>when full diplomatic relations were established between the <strong>two countries.&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>In 2022-23,<\/strong> the two countries jointly celebrated<strong> 30 years of the elevation of bilateral ties to full diplomatic ties.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Defense &amp; Security: <\/strong>Israel has been a <strong>key supplier of advanced technology<\/strong> from <strong>AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System)<\/strong> radars and drones to missile and surveillance systems making it one of<strong> India\u2019s largest defense suppliers.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bilateral Trade: India is Israel\u2019s 2nd trading partner in Asia<\/strong> and the <strong>7th largest <\/strong>globally.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In FY 2023-24 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-05-2025\/india-major-ports-achieve-historic-milestones-fy-2024-25\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-05-2025\/india-major-ports-achieve-historic-milestones-fy-2024-25\">FY 2024-25<\/a> the bilateral trade (excluding defense) was US$ 6.53 billion and US$3.75 billion respectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Investment: <\/strong>During April 2000 \u2013 March 2024, Israel&#8217;s direct FDI into India was U.S. $334.2 million.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There are over 300 investments from Israel in India mainly in the <strong>high-tech domain, agriculture and water.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Agriculture &amp; Water Management:<\/strong> In 1993, the first Agreement on Cooperation in Agriculture was signed.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>2006: <\/strong>Comprehensive Work Plan on Agriculture launched (3-year cycles) \u2013 implemented through MASHAV (Israel\u2019s Agency for International Development Cooperation).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2025: <\/strong>Revised Agriculture Cooperation Agreement signed, expanding areas of partnership.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The<strong> Indo-Israeli Centers of Excellence (CoE)<\/strong> demonstrate Israeli expertise, technologies and innovation in the horticultural field.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Science, Technology, Counter-Terrorism &amp; Innovation: <\/strong>India-Israel cooperation in Science &amp; Technology (S&amp;T) is overseen by the <strong>Joint Committee on S&amp;T, <\/strong>established under the Agreement of Science &amp; Technology cooperation signed in <strong>1993.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A US$ 40 million India-Israel Industrial R&amp;D<\/strong> and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) for joint projects was also set up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Multilateral Cooperation: <\/strong>Both are active members of the<strong> I2U2 group<\/strong> (India, Israel, USA, UAE), focusing on economic and space collaboration with projects like food parks and space-based environmental tools.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance for India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Defence &amp; security: Israel <\/strong>is a<strong> reliable partner<\/strong> for <strong>critical technologies<\/strong> for India and can be instrumental in India\u2019s Self Reliance and Make in India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Agriculture &amp; water:<\/strong> Israel is known for its <strong>model of innovation, water conservation, and high-yield farming,<\/strong> India can adopt these technologies with collaboration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Geopolitics: <\/strong>It is an important<strong> <\/strong>strategic partner for India in West Asia that complements <strong>India\u2019s Act West policy.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2013Israel ties are a <strong>strategic partnership <\/strong>spanning defence, agriculture, water, innovation, and trade.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Defence and agriculture <\/strong>remain the strongest pillars, while cooperation is expanding into new domains like<strong> food security, startups, and I2U2 multilateralism.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Agreement marks a historic milestone in the relation of two countries.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The agreement is expected to <strong>boost investments, provide greater certainty and protection for investors.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2164745#:~:text=Mr.%20Bezalel%20Smotrich%2C%20Finance%20Minister,the%20relation%20of%20two%20countries.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>PIB<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India and Israel signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA).<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Israel has become the first OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member state to sign an investment pact under India\u2019s new model treaty framework.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The BIA replaces the earlier investment treaty signed in 1996, which was terminated in 2017 as part of India\u2019s policy overhaul on such agreements.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Agreement will increase bilateral investments, which presently stands at a total of USD 800 million.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The new agreement provides protection for investors while promoting cross-border investments in key sectors: innovation, infrastructure development, financial regulation, and digital services.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/09-09-2025\/india-israel-bilateral-investment-agreement-bia\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53518"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53566,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53518\/revisions\/53566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}