Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday announced that India will restart negotiations for a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), marking a fresh push to deepen economic ties with the strategically vital Gulf region. The announcement comes soon after India sealed two major trade agreements, one with the European Union and another with the United States.
The GCC is a regional bloc of six Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. The renewed engagement between India and the GCC also comes months after Pakistan and Saudi Arabia revived their strategic partnership.
GCC FTA Aimed at Boosting Trade and Investment
Goyal said the proposed FTA would significantly strengthen India’s relationship with the GCC, noting that the two sides “have been trading amongst each other for over 5,000 years.” He highlighted the deep historical and economic links that already exist between India and the Gulf economies.
The minister also pointed to the strong people-to-people connect, stating that nearly 10 million Indians live and work across GCC countries, playing a key role in driving their economies.
“It is most appropriate that we now enter into a much stronger and robust trading arrangement which will enable a greater free flow of goods and services, bring predictability and stability to policy, and help encourage a greater degree of investments,” Goyal said.
Within the GCC, the UAE and Saudi Arabia currently rank among India’s largest trading partners, making the bloc a crucial component of New Delhi’s global trade strategy.
Pakistan-Saudi Pact Draws Attention
The decision to revive India-GCC FTA talks has drawn attention in light of recent geopolitical developments in the region. The renewed negotiations come months after Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a defence agreement, underscoring shifting strategic equations in West Asia.
In September 2025, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan inked a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA), reviving an earlier framework for strategic cooperation between Riyadh and Islamabad. The pact was signed months after a military stand-off between India and Pakistan during ‘Operation Sindoor’.