Hanoi (VNA) – Economic and trade relations between Vietnam and Israel continued their positive momentum in the first half of 2026, driven by strong growth in Vietnamese exports and the effective implementation of the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA).

According to the Vietnam Trade Office at the Vietnamese Embassy in Israel, bilateral trade was estimated at 1.93 billion USD in the first six months of the year, up 5.5% from the same period in 2025. Vietnam's exports to Israel rose sharply by 35.7% to around 555 million USD, while its imports edged down 0.8% to approximately 1.13 billion USD.

The robust export growth shows that Vietnamese businesses are making better use of tariff preferences under VIFTA, which took effect in November 2024. If global market conditions remain stable through the rest of the year, two-way trade is forecast to exceed 3.9 billion USD in 2026, surpassing the nearly 3.65 billion USD recorded in 2025. Vietnam's exports to Israel are also expected to top 1 billion USD for the first time.

Seafood remained one of Vietnam's standout exports, with shipments valued at around 40 million USD in the first half, up 30.7% year-on-year. Israel is currently Vietnam's largest tuna importer in the Middle East. Following a decline in 2025, tuna exports to this market have rebounded strongly, reaching nearly 10 million USD in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 33% from a year earlier.

Investment cooperation has also expanded steadily. At the end of June 2026, Israel had 46 investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of approximately 156 million USD, including capital increases, capital contributions and equity acquisitions. Vietnamese companies, meanwhile, invested around 78.25 million USD in Israel. The largest investment came from VinES, a subsidiary of Vingroup, which spent 40 million USD on acquiring a 5% stake in Israeli ultra-fast battery technology company StoreDot.

During a recent meeting between Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel Nguyen Ky Son and Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat, both sides agreed to step up the effective implementation of VIFTA and convene the Intergovernmental Committee at an early date to review progress and explore new areas of cooperation.

Israel views Vietnam as a highly promising market of more than 100 million people and an increasingly important global manufacturing hub. Both countries identified artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, agricultural technology, health care and innovation as key areas for future collaboration.

Buoyed by the positive impact of VIFTA and the current growth trajectory, trade and investment relations between Vietnam and Israel are expected to continue growing strongly, with the aim of increasing bilateral trade to even higher levels in the coming years./.