Piyush Goyal in Lok Sabha
Credit: Sansad TV
New Delhi: India and the six-nation bloc Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Thursday signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) to re-launch talks on an FTA, which was suspended in 2011.
Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Ajay Bhadoo and Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Raja Al Marzouqi signed the ToR at a ceremony in New Delhi, in the presence of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. The ToR will guide the negotiations for the GCC-India FTA by defining its scope and modalities.
The negotiations for an India-GCC FTA was originally launched in 2004 with a framework agreement, followed by two rounds of talks in 2006 and 2008. However, discussions were suspended in 2011 after the GCC paused trade negotiations globally.
Goyal said the FTA deal with the GCC would “unleash new opportunities for Indian goods and services, MSMEs, entrepreneurs, skilled youth and professionals, and attract massive investments”.
India has already signed bilateral free trade deals with the UAE and Oman and launched negotiations with Qatar. Other GCC members also include Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
“With India deepening its trade engagements with the developed world, the stage is set for unlocking the full potential of a mutually-beneficial economic relationship with the GCC,” Goyal said.
Marzouqi, who will be the chief negotiator from the GCC’s side, said the signing of ToR marks the commencement of negotiations towards a mutually-beneficial FTA. Bhadoo will be the chief negotiator from India.
India’s trade with the GCC stood at $178.56 billion in FY2024-25, accounting for 15.42% of India’s global trade. Trade balance is heavily in favour of the GCC, primarily due to India’s reliance on oil and gas to meet the domestic demands.
India imported goods worth $121.66 billion from the GCC during the fiscal ended March 2025, while India’s exports to the region stood at $56.87 billion, as per data shared by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
India’s imports from GCC countries primarily comprise crude oil, LNG, petrochemicals, and precious metals such as gold. Key exports from India to the GCC include engineering goods, rice, textiles, machinery, gems and jewellery.
Collectively, the GCC countries represent a market of 6.15 crore people (2024) and $2.3 trillion in terms of GDP at current prices, ranking 9th globally in this category. The GCC region is also a significant source of FDI for India, with cumulative investments exceeding $31.14 billion as on September 2025.
“The GCC is also home to nearly 10 million members of the Indian community. These strong and enduring people-to-people ties are further reinforced by the substantial presence of Indian companies across the region,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.