India and the six-nation bloc of Middle Eastern nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), will ink terms of reference on Thursday for starting talks for a free trade agreement (FTA), an official said.
The terms of reference (ToR) outline the scope and modalities of a proposed trade pact.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will preside over the signing ceremony of the ToRs with GCC.
GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.
India has already implemented a free trade pact with the UAE in May 2022. India and Oman also signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Muscat on December 18, 2025.
Launch of FTA talks with the GCC would be a kind of resumption of the negotiations, as the earlier two rounds of negotiations were held in 2006 and 2008 between the two regions. The third round did not happen as GCC deferred its negotiations with all countries and economic groups.
India imports …​India and the six-nation bloc of Middle Eastern nations, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), will ink terms of reference on Thursday for starting talks for a free trade agreement (FTA), an official said.
The terms of reference (ToR) outline the scope and modalities of a proposed trade pact.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will preside over the signing ceremony of the ToRs with GCC.
GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.
India has already implemented a free trade pact with the UAE in May 2022. India and Oman also signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Muscat on December 18, 2025.
Launch of FTA talks with the GCC would be a kind of resumption of the negotiations, as the earlier two rounds of negotiations were held in 2006 and 2008 between the two regions. The third round did not happen as GCC deferred its negotiations with all countries and economic groups.
India imports … ​Latest News [ SOBAN NEWS: International and National ]
