India, GCC Sign ToR to Launch FTA Talks for Growth

• India and the GCC have begun FTA talks to strengthen trade, investment, and energy and food security
• The pact aims to remove duties and barriers, boosting Indian exports and ICT opportunities in the Gulf
• Bilateral trade hit $178.7 billion in 2024-25, with India importing oil and gas and exporting metals, chemicals, and consumer goods

India and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have officially started talks to establish a free trade agreement (FTA) which they formalized through their signing of the terms of reference (ToR) document that establishes the pact's operational boundaries.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal presided over the ceremony, which presented an agreement that would create stronger trade and investment connections between India and the six GCC member states that include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain.

Goyal pointed out that the two areas maintain strong commercial connections which have existed for more than 5000 years, while he also mentioned that approximately 10 million Indians currently reside in Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

He stated, “It is most appropriate that we now enter into a much stronger and robust trading arrangement which will enable a greater free flow of goods, services, bring predictability and stability to policy, help encourage a greater degree of investments”.

Goyal explained that the FTA will improve security for food resources and energy supplies because India stands as a leading food grain producer while Gulf Cooperation Council nations function as main oil and gas producers.

“We already have a very robust, nearly $179 billion bilateral trade. I believe a number of products and services required by the GCC countries can be provided by our young, very talented and skilled Indians, as the GCC countries can help us with further diversification and growth of our energy sources”, he added.

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“We will also get a foothold to grow Indian infrastructure and the infrastructure in the GCC, together with the high-quality companies that are working in the space of infrastructure. Our petrochemical industry will hugely benefit with this partnership”, Goyal noted.

The agreement would lead to increased Indian exports because it would remove all import duties and non-tariff trade barriers together with providing new market entry points for Indian ICT businesses who want to expand in the Gulf region.

India has previously signed a free trade pact with the UAE in May 2022 and a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman in December 2025. India and the GCC maintain strong trading relationships which resulted in increased bilateral trade that reached $178.7 billion during the 2024-25 period after reaching $161.82 billion in 2023-24.

The Gulf countries export crude oil, LNG and natural gas to India while they import from India metals and electrical machinery and pearls and stones and chemicals and imitation jewellery.

The FTA negotiations led by Additional Secretary Ajay Bhadoo for India and GCC chief negotiator Raja Al Marzouqi represent a continuation of discussions which started during 2006 and 2008 but faced interruptions in the past.

The pact will strengthen economic relations between both regions because of existing global economic uncertainties while it creates new business opportunities that will benefit both areas in the future.