India, GCC sign ToR to start FTA negotiations

India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries signed the terms of reference (ToR) for a proposed free-trade agreement (FTA) on Thursday, over three years after announcing the intention to relaunch the negotiations.

- SHREYA NANDI

The ToR defines the scope and modalities of the FTA.

GCC is a regional, intergovernmental political economic union comprising six countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The deal, if finalised, will strengthen India’s economic and strategic ties with West Asia.

India and the GCC had signed a framework agreement on economic cooperation to explore the possibility of FTA between them, more than 21 years ago. Thereafter, two rounds of negotiations happened in 2006 and in 2008, following which the economic union deferred its negotiations with all countries and economic groups. In November 2022, India and the GCC countries had announced the intention to relaunch the FTA negotiations. However, disagreements over the terms of reference delayed the launch of talks.