India, GCC sign joint statement to launch free trade agreement negotiations

India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) person formally launched negotiations for a broad Free Trade Agreement (FTA) aft signing a associated connection aimed astatine deepening commercialized and concern ties betwixt the 2 sides, a authorities connection said.The associated connection was signed by Union commerce and manufacture curate Piyush Goyal and GCC caput wide Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi successful New Delhi, marking the ceremonial commencement of negotiations for a “comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement”.Goyal said the associated statement, on with the Terms of Reference (ToR) signed earlier, marks “a important milestone successful the narration betwixt India and GCC countries”.

He added that ties rooted successful shared past and taste linkages would person caller momentum done a broad-based FTA.He underlined that “amidst planetary uncertainties, it is astir opportune that discussions are starting connected negotiating a robust trading statement which would harness communal synergies and complementarities,” according to the furniture statement.Albudaiwi said the projected statement would service arsenic “an important instrumentality to further fortify commercialized and concern ties betwixt India and GCC countries by infusing predictability and certainty for businesses”.

The GCC remains India’s largest trading spouse bloc, with bilateral commercialized reaching $178.56 cardinal successful FY 2024-25, including exports worthy $56.87 cardinal and imports of $121.68 billion, accounting for 15.42% of India’s planetary trade. Trade betwixt the 2 sides has grown astatine an mean yearly complaint of 15.3% implicit the past 5 years.India’s cardinal exports to GCC countries see engineering goods, rice, textiles, machinery, and gems and jewellery, portion imports are dominated by crude oil, LNG, petrochemicals and precious metals specified arsenic gold.Collectively, GCC economies correspond a marketplace of astir 61.5 cardinal radical and a combined GDP of $2.3 trillion astatine existent prices, ranking ninth globally. The portion is besides a large root of overseas concern for India, with cumulative FDI exceeding $31.14 cardinal arsenic of September 2025.Nearly 10 cardinal Indian nationals unrecorded crossed GCC countries, forming what officials described arsenic a “living bridge” strengthening economical and people-to-people ties, alongside the beardown beingness of Indian companies crossed the region.