NEW DELHI - Negotiations for a free-trade agreement (FTA) between India and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will begin next month with hopes to seal a deal by June, India trade ministry joint secretary Srikar K Reddy said on Thursday.

India is also working on a rupee-dirham trade mechanism and is in talks with the United Arab Emirates, Reddy added.

(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya in New Delhi, writing by Shivam Patel, editing by Mark Potter)