Israel and Japan announced their first steps toward a free trade agreement.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry made the announcement on Tuesday. The deal would further open up Israel to the world’s third-largest economy, the press release wrote, giving both peoples discounts on each other’s goods. Israel exports approximately $1.24 billion to Japan yearly, while Japan exports approximately $2.3 billion to Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post. Those exports are likely to grow, following Tuesday’s creation of a joint study group to investigate the path to signing a free trade agreement.
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“This morning in Tokyo, we agreed to take a first step toward the signing of a free trade agreement between Israel and Japan, which means discounts for products and goods from Japan for the benefit of the Israeli market and increasing Israeli exports to Japan, the third-largest economy in the world,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in the press release.
“This year, we are also celebrating 70 years of relations between our countries, and this is further proof of their growing strength — diplomatically and economically,” he added.
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Japan has invested heavily in Israel’s technology sector, to the tune of $13 billion since 2000, the Jerusalem Post reported. The two countries also have extensive defense ties.
