A new treaty signed with Japan is the latest example of Israel’s strong economy and increasing ties worldwide, despite so much effort by the BDS movement against the Jewish state.
Israel and Japan signed a bilateral investment treaty Wednesday in the latest move to strengthen their diplomatic and trade ties.
Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida signed the treaty, negotiated between Jerusalem and Tokyo from May 2015 to December 2016, in a ceremony at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem.
A bilateral investment treaty establishes the terms and conditions for private investment by nationals and companies of one state in another state. Formed as part of or through trade pacts, bilateral investment treaties allow both countries to provide protections for each other’s foreign investments that they would not otherwise have. Those include the assurance of fair and equitable treatment, protection from expropriation, the free transfer of means, and setting up alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms.
“This treaty symbolizes the growing economic ties between Israel and Japan, and it is a significant milestone in the liberalization of foreign investments in Israel,” Kahlon said.
“Through this agreement and other treaties we have signed, and through one of the best tax policies in the world, Israel has positioned itself as an attractive destination for foreign investors. Our economic achievements over the past two years have not gone unnoticed by the world. I am proud to be Israel’s finance minister,” he said.
Israel and Japan are experiencing record-breaking trade and economic ties.
According to the Foreign Trade Administration in the Israeli Ministry of Economy, total trade between Israel and Japan stood at $2.3 billion in 2014, with exports to Japan reaching $800 million and imports $1.5 billion.
The increased cooperation spells several advantages to the Israeli economy. By increasing exports to Japan, which in and of itself would be an important goal, it increases the ability of small- and medium-sized businesses to penetrate the Japanese market., while the Japanese market is seeking Israeli technologies and know-how.
Israel’s goal is “to increase exports to Japan by 50% by 2020 such that exports will amount to approximately $1.1 billion per annum,” Israel stated in 2015. “An additional government target is to increase the number of Israeli exporters to Japan, which export over $500,000 per annum to 33% by 2020, i.e. that there will be over 210 such exporters.”
By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff
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