New Delhi: Talks for a free trade agreement between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council will resume, the GCC secretary-general and India's trade minister announced on Thursday, 14 years after the last round of talks.
GCC is a federation of six Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. This is the third time the two sides have attempted to reach a trade deal after two failed rounds in 2006 and 2008.
It was announced after a meeting between Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal and GCC Secretary-General Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf that talks would resume.
Also Read: New Malaysian PM claims that the cost of living is top concern
14 years after the last round of talks, the Secretary General of the GCC and India's Trade Minister announced on Thursday that the Free Trade Agreement talks between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council will resume.
GCC is a federation of six Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. This is the third time the two sides have attempted to reach a trade deal after two failed rounds in 2006 and 2008.
It was announced after a meeting between Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal and GCC Secretary-General Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf that talks would resume.
The total amount of crude oil imported by India from GCC in 2021-2022 was about $48 billion, while the import of Liquefied Natural Gas and Liquefied Petroleum Gas was about $21 billion. In his opening remarks, Al-Hajraf said, "Over the past two years, the world has been affected by the pandemic and the economic outlook looks uncertain. It is time to capitalize on the already strong ties between the GCC and India."
Also Read: WFP: Tigray, Ethiopia, assistance "not meeting needs"
He claimed that joint efforts are being made by India and the GCC in the areas of trade, investment, technology, combating climate change and ensuring food security.
The Secretary General of the GCC said, “We are deeply grateful for the contribution made by the Indian diaspora living in the GCC countries and contribution to the GCC economy.
NRIs are estimated to number 32 million, most of whom live outside India and work in the Gulf countries. India and the United Arab Emirates, India's third largest trading partner after the United States and China, signed an FTA earlier this year.
According to a World Bank report, a significant portion of the $87 billion in foreign remittances received by India in 2021 came from the Gulf region.
According to Mudassir Qamar of the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyzes think tank in New Delhi, the GCC nations are the most important element of India's Act West policy, and this important economic grouping in the region is the largest trading partner among the regional organizations. Spoke to Arab News.
The FTA will facilitate trade between the two countries and remove export-import barriers for industries in both India and the GCC. According to Anil Trigunayat, India's former ambassador to Jordan, the trade agreement "will be the next important step in our special strategic partnership with the GCC countries."
It is only natural that both sides find an institutional mechanism like FTA at the earliest as the historical and civilizational ties have turned into a strategic opportunity that benefits both sides. Trigunayat told Arab News.
Addressing the legitimate concerns of both sides, it will cover "all areas of potential cooperation - trade, technology, services, mobility, investment comprehensively and in the future."
According to Manish Singhal of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, "a free trade agreement with the GCC has huge economic potential for India."
In the pharmaceutical and engineering sectors, he continued, "investment and mutual recognition of standards will give a big boost especially in terms of our exports," if it is a comprehensive FTA.