India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have resumed discussions on the free trade agreement (FTA), said Ausaf Sayeed, Secretary (CPV&OIA), Ministry of External Affairs, India.

“We have exchanged preliminary documents and the delegations have been meeting,” ANI, an India-based news agency, quoted the official as saying at the 6th India-Arab Partnership Conference held on July 11 and 12 in New Delhi.

“We hope this will soon become a reality, bringing newer opportunities for businesses on both sides,” Sayeed added.

The official said that talks are ongoing on exploring alternative forms of trading with GCC nations.

“There are discussions with our bilateral partners, talks about rupee trading, barter trading and many other things, especially under the circumstances where most countries are facing challenges of foreign currency,” Sayeed said.

The trade talks’ resumption was agreed upon in November 2022 during a meeting between India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and GCC Secretary General Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf.

In December, Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said bilateral trade between India and the GCC region rose 40.53% to $111.71 billion between April and October 2022, compared to $79.49 billion a year earlier. 

India and the UAE have already signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) last year.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)