In order to boost trade, India and Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries are expected to conclude a free trade agreement within one year said K K M Kutty a former chairman of industry chamber CII. If the free trade agreements is enacted it would make things easier. Further, to speed up the process of free trade between gulf nations, the CII is also pressing the government and local trade bodies in all countries.
By adding further he said ‘we have to manage all six GCC countries and that is the problem. Within a year, it should come through. If the (free trade) negotiation was with one country, it would have been much easier.’
The GCC countries, which include Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and India, have targeted various potential sectors like petroleum oil, energy and gas, fertilizers, information technology, higher education, civil aviation and agriculture.
A free trade agreement between GCC counties will benefit India significantly as the six member countries control over 45 percent of the world’s recoverable oil wealth and 20 percent of gas resource. The free trade agreement once enacted would remove all restrictive duties and will push on the traffic on goods being traded. This will in turn help Indian Pharma and chemical industry in the gulf nations.
Among the GCC countries, Oman is one of the major trading partners and is eager to strengthen economic relations with India, which will result in tremendous trading opportunity between the two countries. The bilateral trade between Oman and India had surpassed $5 billion last year and about 1,500 Indo-Oman joint ventures are operating in Oman.
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