By Muskan Mustaqeem
In the fiscal year 2021-22, bilateral trade between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) reached over $154 billion, making the GCC-India the largest trading partner block. This was reported by India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
India’s annual exports to the GCC countries were worth approx. $44 billion, while imports were worth around $110 billion (non-oil exports of USD 33.8 Billion and non-oil imports of USD 37.2 Billion). Around $14 billion was also exchanged in services between India and the GCC countries. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry reported $5.5 billion in exports and $8.3 billion in imports for India in this sector.
Almost 35% of India’s oil imports and 70% of its gas imports come from the GCC. During the fiscal year 2021-22, India spent over $48 billion on crude oil imports from the GCC, and another $21 billion on LNG and LPG imports. Over USD 18 billion is being invested in India by the GCC – Ministry added.
During the high-level meeting, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), His Excellency Dr. Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf, announced plans to move forward with negotiations on an India-GCC Free Trade Agreement. Both the countries have made substantial progress on all issues of mutual interest across the full spectrum of their bilateral economic relations.
The Ministry further stated that- “Both sides agreed to expedite conclusion of the requisite legal and technical requirements for formal resumption of the FTA negotiations. The FTA is envisaged to be a modern, comprehensive Agreement with substantial coverage of goods and services”.
It was emphasized by both parties that the FTA would boost the economy, increase employment, improve people’s quality of life, and provide wider socio-economic opportunities in India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. As a result of the complementary ecosystem of the business and economic ecosystems between India and the GCC, both parties have agreed to significantly increase the scope and diversity of the trade basket to take advantage of the vast opportunities that exist.
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Muskan Mustaqeem is doing
PhD, from JMI.