India-GCC initiate talks on Free Trade Agreement -

New Delhi: India has started discussions on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). India’s trade cooperation with the GCC, which includes the six Middle East nations Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, has attracted the attention of this region and the entire world. Annual trade between India and the GCC member countries reached $155 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22. It is claimed that this trade will increase after the FTA, and the Indian economy will benefit tremendously.

Moreover, India has already signed a free trade agreement with UAE, a GCC member. After this agreement, India’s trade with the UAE has increased tremendously; this financial year, it is seen that this trade has crossed $88 billion. Realizing this, the GCC has also started negotiations for an FTA with India. Earlier in 2006 and 2008, discussions on FTA had been held between India and GCC. But at that time, they were not successful. But in the volatile economic environment, the Middle East nations strive for a reliable trading partnership. Due to this, the Middle East nations have increased their trade cooperation with China in the last few years.

But China’s economy is currently experiencing tremendous jolts. In such a situation, China, the second-largest economy in the world, is in danger. For many reasons, multinational companies in China are shifting from here to India and other countries. At the same time, international investors are attracted to India, which is making credible economic progress. Against this backdrop, India’s importance at the international level has grown tremendously. This has influenced the GCC countries. Thus, the discussion regarding FTA has started between India and GCC. There are indications that this discussion will be successful this time.

Furthermore, Secretary General of GCC Dr. Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf and Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met and held discussions. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has informed that the visit reflects the partnership between India and the GCC. It was also clarified in the Ministry of External Affairs statement that India and the GCC are determined to take their cooperation in the fields of trade, security and culture to new heights. Meanwhile, India’s exports to GCC countries have increased by 58.26% to $44 billion in FY 2021-22. In the previous financial year, these exports stood at $27.8 billion. At the same time, exports from the GCC member countries to India have also increased by 15.5%.

Additionally, it is claimed that the status of trade between India and the GCC will change dramatically after the FTA. The deal will further open the huge Indian market to GCC member countries. At the same time, India’s exports to the GCC member countries can also increase tremendously. This will benefit not only India economically but also at a strategic level. Millions of Indians are employed in Middle East nations. The majority of these workers are active in GCC member states. In the future, the FTA may create more employment opportunities for Indians in the Middle East. Skilled manpower and technology can be supplied from India to the GCC countries.

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