Jerusalem [Israel], November 23 (ANI): Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday (local time) described his three-day visit to Israel as 'very successful,' noting that both industry leaders and government representatives in Israel have expressed strong enthusiasm for further strengthening bilateral ties with India.

Goyal highlighted that India and Israel have finalised and signed the Terms of Reference, paving the way for formal negotiations on a proposed free trade agreement between the two nations.

'It was a very successful three-day visit to Israel. There is a great deal of enthusiasm in the industry and the government to further strengthen relations with India. As a result, we finalised and signed the Terms of Reference, which will now begin negotiations for a free trade agreement. I also held separate discussions with several technology companies. At the Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation, we saw how Israel, taking every disaster as a challenge, has worked to benefit from it. It has turned it into an opportunity, and from that, whether it is in the field of security, health, or electronics technology, it has achieved remarkable innovations and success in various fields,' Piyush Goyal told reporters.

Piyush Goyal also highlighted the long conversation he had with Israel's Minister of Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat. He said that discussions on further steps to enhance economic ties between India and Israel were held. Goyal informed that his Israeli counterpart agreed to visit India with a large business delegation.

The Union Minister also expressed confidence that his visit would increase bilateral trade between Israel and India.

'Yesterday, I had a very long conversation with the Minister of Economy and Industry of Israel, Nir Barkat, who oversees international trade. We discussed in great detail what further steps will be taken to enhance economic ties. Both sides discussed this, and he expressed great satisfaction with the Israelis' visit to India with a large delegation, a business delegation, and now with the Indian delegation visiting Israel. He expressed great satisfaction with the success of both,' Goyal said.

The Union Minister further noted that his visit comes after a two-decade gap since the last visit by an Indian Commerce Minister, expressing confidence that the renewed engagement will significantly boost bilateral trade, innovation partnerships, and investment flows between India and Israel.

'Tomorrow, I have a meeting with high-level Israeli leaders; I will share the details with you after the meeting. But in every way, it was a very successful visit. It's been 20 years since a Commerce Minister visited, and I hope this visit will increase bilateral trade between Israel and India. Our relationship in innovation, research, and development will improve, and in the future, there will be a significant surge in investment between the two countries,' he added.

Earlier on Saturday, Piyush Goyal held a series of wide-ranging engagements during his official visit to Israel, further strengthening bilateral cooperation across agriculture, technology, innovation and trade.

During his meetings on Friday (November 21), Minister Piyush Goyal met with Israeli Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Avi Dichter, for a detailed discussion on advancing agricultural collaboration.

Minister Dichter briefed Indian minister Goyal on Israel's 25-year food security roadmap, its advanced seed-improvement strategies, and the country's global leadership in water-reuse technologies for agriculture.

As part of his engagements, Minister Goyal visited the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, where he was apprised of Israel's pioneering technological ecosystem, the commerce ministry said in a statement on Saturday. (ANI)