Government declares aim of free trade agreement with Israel

“Our teams will be entering negotiating rooms as soon as possible, laser-focused on creating new opportunities for UK firms so they can support jobs across the country and deliver the growth we desperately need.”

Britain’s Ambassador to Israel Simon Walters said on X/ Twitter, “We look forward to an ambitious deal which delivers for the UK and Israel.”

Total trade between Israel and the UK was worth an estimated £6.1 billion last year and Israel was the UK’s 41st largest trading partner.

In March last year, the previous Conservative administration and Israel signed an enhanced agreement called “2030 roadmap for UK-Israel bilateral relations” and negotiations to sign an FTA had been ongoing.

The announcement by the new Labour government comes amid widespread speculation that the UK was considering suspending arms sales to Israel.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy responded that any change on the UK’s stance on exporting arms to Israel would only occur after “careful assessments of the law”.