‘Have agreed to pursue free trade deal with Gulf Cooperation Council’: Piyush Goyal

‘Have agreed to pursue free trade deal with Gulf Cooperation Council’: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: India and Gulf Cooperation Council have agreed to pursue the Free Trade Agreement, saying that they wanted to conclude it at the earliest, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said.

Addressing a joint press conference, the Union minister said, "We've agreed to pursue the Free Trade Agreement between India and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and conclude it at the earliest. GCC is already India's largest trading partner. GCC countries contribute almost 35 per cent of India's oil imports and 70 per cent of our gas imports."

This joint press conference took place to mark the launch of the resumption of India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Negotiations.

In the presser, Goyal said the GCC is India's largest trade partner. The bilateral merchandise trade in the year 2021-2022 is valued at $154 billion.

Bilateral trade in services between India and GCC stood at around $14 billion. India and the GCC have complimentary business and economic ecosystems. While India played an important role in food security and contribute to the healthcare of GCC, the GCC is a reliable partner in India's energy security.

Goyal said the FTA between India and GCC countries will be a comprehensive economic partnership. "What exactly can be expected needs