India and the GCC have agreed on the terms to formally kickstart negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.
"Truly a momentous day when we are signing the terms of reference of yet another free trade agreement, this time with our friends from the six nations which comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council," the minister said in a post on X.
Speaking about trade between the GCC and India, it stood at $178.56 billion in 2025.
"It is most appropriate that we now enter into a much stronger and robust trading arrangement which will enable greater free flow of goods, services, bring predictability and stability to policy, help encourage a greater degree of investments and take our bilateral relations to greater heights," he added.
With India now the world's fourth-largest economy behind the United States, China and Germany, these recent trade pacts indicate the South Asian country's growing global influence, especially in the economic sphere.