In a joint statement made in New Delhi, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, and the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Dr. Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf, said that India and the GCC have decided to start negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA).
The GCC is a group of six Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
According to data by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the GCC is currently India’s largest trading partner bloc, with bilateral commerce valued at over USD 154 billion in FY 2021–22, with exports valued at roughly USD 44 billion and imports valued at approximately USD 110 billion (non-oil exports of USD 33.8 billion and non-oil imports of USD 37.2 billion). In fiscal year 2021–22, bilateral trade in services between India and the GCC was valued at approximately USD 14 billion, with exports of USD 5.5 billion and imports worth USD 8.3 billion.
Nearly 35% of India’s oil imports and 70% of its gas imports come from the GCC. In 2021–22, India imported over $48 billion worth of crude oil from the GCC, while LNG and LPG imports totalled approximately $21 billion. Currently, GCC investments in India are valued at around USD 18 billion.
Inputs from: Press Information Bureau
Edited by Tanmoy Mitra