FTA talks
India, Gulf Cooperation Council sign joint statement launching FTA talks
This story was originally published at 20:53 IST on 24 February 2026
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026
--Piyush Goyal: Suggested Gulf Cooperation Council to end FTA talks in 1 yr
NEW DELHI – India and the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-member West Asian trade bloc, Tuesday signed a joint statement on a Free Trade Agreement, formally launching negotiations for a comprehensive trade deal. The statement was signed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.
Goyal said he suggested closing the FTA talks with the regional bloc 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 has signed several FTAs over the past year, including with the UK, the European Union, and New Zealand. India is also working on trade agreements with Chile and the MERCOSUR bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela, the official said.
The two sides had signed the terms of reference for the FTA on Feb. 5.
The Gulf Cooperation Council is India's largest trading partner bloc with bilateral trade of $178.56 billion in 2024-25 (Apr-Mar), accounting for 15.4% of India's global trade. In the last five years, India's trade with the bloc has expanded steadily with an annual average growth rate of over 15%.
The Gulf Cooperation Council accounts for 13% of India's total exports, with outbound shipments of $56.87 billion in FY25. India's imports from the region were $121.67 billion in FY25.
The six-nation bloc represents a market of 61.5 million people and $2.3 trillion in terms of GDP at current prices, ranking 9th globally. The region is also a significant source of foreign direct investment for India, with cumulative investments exceeding $31.14 billion as of September 2025, the commerce ministry said.
The Gulf Cooperation Council also has a large Indian population. End
US$1 = INR 90.95
Reported by Shubham Rana
Edited by Saji George Titus
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 (22) 6985-4000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
