New Delhi, February 24 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, on Tuesday, focusing on ways to strengthen cooperation in areas such as energy, trade, and investment.
AlBudaiwi is currently on a visit to India.
The GCC is a powerful grouping comprising the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.
The meeting between Jaishankar and AlBudaiwi coincided with the signing of a joint document by India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to formally initiate negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
"The India-GCC Joint Action Plan, which is based on our Strategic Dialogue, is promoting cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, energy and agriculture, security, and people-to-people ties," Jaishankar said on social media.
"I am confident that the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement will further strengthen our partnership," he added.
According to an Indian readout, the FTA has the potential to unlock and expand trade with a significant region with which India has longstanding historical ties in trade and commerce.
The GCC is India's largest trading partner bloc, with bilateral trade reaching USD 178.56 billion in 2024-25, accounting for 15.42 per cent of India's global trade.
In the last five years, India's trade with the GCC has steadily increased, registering an annual average growth rate of 15.3 per cent.