India's bilateral trade with Israel, Austria, Eurasian countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Gulf countries has been declining over the last three years. In 2015-16 the bilateral trade between these nations declined by as high as 34.06%, while in 2014-15 it declined by 11%.

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The Eurasian countries include Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, and the Gulf countries include Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Baharain and Qatar.

In 2013-14 bilateral trade between these countries stood at US$1,64,498.34, according to Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS). While in 2014-15 the bilateral trade between these countries declined to US$1,48,185.05 million, and further declined $1,10,529.81 million in 2015-16.

“Currently, the Department of Commerce is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Israel. The eighth round was held in Israel from 24-26 November, 2013 wherein discussions took place on market access in goods, rules of origin, custom procedures and trade in services,” said Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.