India & Israel Sign Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) to Boost Investments.

In September 2025, the Government of India (GoI) and the Government of Israel signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) in New Delhi, aimed at enhancing bilateral trade, investment, and cooperation in key economic sectors.

      - The BIT was signed between Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance (MoF), Government of India, and Bezalel Smotrich, Finance Minister (FM) of Israel, during his official visit to India from September 8–10, 2025.

      - With this agreement, Israel becomes the first Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member country to sign an investment treaty under India’s new model BIT framework.

      - The treaty is designed to promote cross-border investments in priority areas such as innovation, infrastructure development, financial regulation, and digital services, strengthening economic ties between both nations.

Main Point :-   (i) The newly signed BIT replaces the earlier India–Israel Investment Protection Agreement of 1996, which was terminated in 2017 following India’s comprehensive review and policy overhaul of bilateral investment treaties.

      (ii) Bilateral investments between India and Israel have been steadily increasing; Indian investments in Israel are currently valued at USD 443 million, while bilateral trade stood at USD 3.9 billion in 2024.

(iii) Presently, mutual investments between the two countries are worth about USD 800 million, according to official data, highlighting the growing depth of India–Israel economic relations.
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