Israel and Australia signed agreements and memoranda of understanding on Thursday in the fields of aviation and industrial research and development. The agreements were signed during Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's meeting with Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull and members of his cabinet.
Bilateral trade currently stands at $1.1 billion. In 2016, Israel exports to Australia totalled $700 million. Netanyahu said, "It should be at least double or triple that. I'd like to encourage the Australian and Israeli companies to increase in trade. If I did the schlep, they should do it too." He added, "The first thing I’d like to do is ask you to increase our trade, our bilateral trade. Second thing is to see how Australia can be a gateway for Israeli companies and Israeli investments into Asia."