India, Israel seal trade deal

India and Israel inked a bilateral investment agreement. Also, the nation is actively negotiating bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with over a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Switzerland, Russia, Australia and the European Union

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

India has cut down the local remedies exhaustion period for Israeli investors to three years from the earlier five years under the Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) signed Monday between the two countries.

A similar provision was included in India's investment pact with the UAE, which came into effect last year. The India-Israel BIA, aimed at providing comfort to investors of both countries, also includes portfolio investments in a deviation from such treaties in the past.

Local remedies exhaustion means that investors must first try to resolve their disputes using the legal system of the host country before they can take the matter to international arbitration. Normally, India keeps a five-year period for this.

An official said that the India-Israel BIA was signed on the lines of the India-UAE bilateral investment treaty.

Israel is the first OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) member with which India has inked this agreement. At the same time, it carefully balances investor protection with the state's regulatory rights, preserving sufficient policy space for sovereign governance.