India, 6-nation Gulf bloc to kick off FTA talks

NEW DELHI: After clinching trade deals with the US and EU, India is set to kick off negotiations for an agreement with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. The bloc, comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, will sign the terms of reference on Thursday, outlining the scope and modalities of the proposed trade treaty.

India already has a comprehensive trade agreement with the UAE and has finalised one with Oman. The signing of the terms of reference, where commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will be present, will mark the resumption of the negotiations, two rounds of talks had been held in 2006 and 2008. The third round did not happen as GCC had deferred its negotiations.



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