MUSCAT: According to Indian media ‘The terms of reference for the agreement are being finalized, and negotiations are expected to start next month.’

“The GCC region has huge trade potential and a trade agreement would help increase Indian exports to that market,” said The Hindu.

India mostly imports crude oil and natural gas from Gulf countries, and exports pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, minerals, electrical machinery, iron and steel, and chemicals to these countries.

India’s exports to the GCC rose 58.26% to about $44 billion in 2021-22, compared to $27.8 billion in 2020-2021, according to data from the Indian Ministry of Commerce.

The share of GCC countries in India’s total exports also increased to 10.4% in 2021-22, compared to 9.51% in 2020-2021. Similarly, imports rose 85.8% to $110.73 billion, compared to $59.6 billion in 2020-2021, the data also showed.
The share of the GCC countries in India’s total imports also increased to 18% in 2021-22, compared to 15.5% in 2020-2021.

Bilateral trade increased to $154.73 billion in 2021-22, compared to $87.4 billion in 2020-2021.

Besides trade, the Gulf countries have a large number of Indian expats; out of the approximately 32 million non-resident Indians, almost half of them work in the Gulf countries.

As per a November 2021 World Bank report, India received $87 billion in outward remittances in 2021. A large part of it came from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Saudi Arabia was India’s fourth largest trading partner in the last fiscal year. India imports 8.5 million tons – annually – of LNG from Qatar and exports products ranging from grains to meat, fish, chemicals and plastics.

Kuwait ranked 27th among India’s largest trading partner in the last fiscal year, while the UAE was its third largest trading partner in 2021-22.