India, GCC decide to pursue resumption of FTA negotiations
INDIAN Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution and Textiles Piyush Goyal and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) General Secretary Dr. Nayef Falah M Al Hajraf held a joint press conference in New Delhi on Monday to announce the intent to pursue negotiations on the India-GCC free trade agreement (FTA).
With forward-looking and solution-oriented deliberations, bilateral engagements witnessed significant progress on all matters of mutual interest across the entire gamut of bilateral economic relations between India and the GCC nations.
Both sides agreed to expedite the conclusion of the requisite legal and technical requirements for the formal resumption of the FTA negotiations. The FTA is envisaged to be a modern, comprehensive Agreement with substantial coverage of goods and services. Both sides emphasised that the FTA will create new jobs, raise living standards, and provide wider social and economic opportunities in India and all the GCC countries.
Both sides agreed to significantly expand and diversify the trade basket in line with the enormous potential that exists on account of the complementary business and economic ecosystems of India and the GCC.
It may be noted that the GCC is currently India’s largest trading partner bloc with bilateral trade in FY 2021-22 valued at over $154 billion with exports valued at approximately $44 billion and imports of around $110 billion including non-oil exports of $33.8 billion and non-oil imports of $37.2 billion.
Bilateral trade in services between India and the GCC was valued at around $14 billion in FY 2021-22, with exports valued at $5.5 billion and imports at $8.3 billion.
GCC countries contribute almost 35 percent of India’s oil imports and 70 percent of its gas imports. India’s overall crude oil imports from the GCC in 2021-22 were about $48 billion, while LNG and LPG imports in 2021-22 were about $21 billion.
Investments from the GCC in India are currently valued at over $18 billion.