A decision to this effect was taken during EAM S Jaishankar’s ongoing five-day visit to Israel

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday held a meeting with Israel’s Alternative Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and they agreed to resume Free Trade Agreement negotiations next month.

“Starting the negotiating process, talks will start in November and they (officials) are very confident that they will be able to conclude the negotiations by next June. So it's something that we very much look forward to,” the EAM said after his meeting with the Israeli APM and FM

The EAM who is on a five-day visit to Israel also talked about his meeting with members of the business community on Sunday.

“A productive meeting with Israeli chambers of commerce & the innovation ecosystem. Appreciate their visible enthusiasm for doing more partnerships with India. Many post-Covid priorities including digital, health, agriculture & green growth are natural areas for our collaboration,” the EAM tweeted.

The two Ministers also discussed a wide range of regional and global issues and agreed in principle on mutual recognition of Covid vaccination certification.

“In principle, we have agreed on mutual recognition of our vaccine certification process. And while we are working that out in the interim, Israel would allow people with Covishield vaccines to travel to Israel,” the EAM added.

The two sides also discussed issues related to climate change and COP26. The EAM expressed his pleasure that Israel was joining the International Solar Alliance.