Conflict Fallout
West Asia war to delay FTA talks with Gulf bloc, Israel, says govt official
This story was originally published at 16:34 IST on 19 March 2026
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Thursday, Mar. 19, 2026
--Govt official: West Asia war to delay FTA talks with Gulf bloc, Israel
NEW DELHI – The ongoing US-Israel war on Iran is likely to delay India's talks for separate free trade agreements with the Gulf Cooperation Council and Israel, a senior government official Thursday said on condition of anonymity. The US-Israel war on Iran has pushed global energy prices higher and halted cargo movement through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
India and the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-member West Asian trade bloc, launched formal negotiations for a comprehensive trade deal on Feb. 24. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had said at the time that the talks with the regional bloc could be concluded within a year. While India already has free trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Oman within the six-nation trade bloc, the deal will open new markets in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
India and Israel also held the first round of negotiations for a free trade agreement late February. The next round of negotiations was scheduled to be held in May in Israel.
The Gulf Cooperation Council is India's largest trading partner bloc with bilateral trade of $178.56 billion in the financial year 2024-25 (Apr-Mar), accounting for 15.4% of India's global trade. In the past five years, India's trade with the bloc has expanded steadily with an annual average growth rate of over 15%. Bilateral merchandise trade between India and Israel stood at $3.62 billion in FY25. End
US$1 = INR 92.63
Reported by Shubham Rana
Edited by Rajeev Pai
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
