As Gaza outrage grows, India sends largest business delegation ever to push FTA with Israel

Amid growing global consensus over Israel’s war crimes against Palestinians during the Gaza genocide, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal made a three-day visit to Israel for “deepening bilateral economic and strategic engagement.”

Terms of Reference for the India–Israel Free Trade Agreement were signed between Goyal and Israel’s Minister of Economy Nir Barkat during the visit.

As part of the visit, a Business Forum and CEOs Forum were held with over 60 members of the Indian business delegation that accompanied the minister. Over 100 representatives from leading Indian companies, including Mahindra, Amul, and Asian Paints, alongside firms in high-tech, pharma, robotics, automotive, agritech, construction, and online commerce, were part of the delegation.

The delegation is the largest India has ever sent to Israel, according to ANI.

“Both Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to boosting bilateral trade, investment and technological cooperation, and expressed confidence that negotiations would proceed constructively towards a balanced and mutually beneficial FTA,” the official presser from the ministry said.

Piyush Goyal met war crime accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayhu and his cabinet member, Bezalel Smotrich, who face sanctions over his repeated calls for the atrocities against Palestinians, among other officials.

“Discussed strengthening our innovation partnership by combining Israel’s hi-tech strengths with India’s scale and talent,” Goyal wrote on X, sharing his photo with Netanyahu.

In September, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Israeli counterpart Bezalel Smotrich signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) in New Delhi, triggering backlash from opposition parties. Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemned Smotrich’s visit, saying it was “shameful” for the government to host him while Israel commits “horrific genocide in Gaza.

12 Global South countries—including Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and South Africa— have committed to broad embargoes, port bans, and trade reviews against Israel during the Bogota summit and Hague Group initiatives this year.