News Highlight
India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have agreed to pursue a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two regions and resume the negotiations.
Key Takeaway
- The council is the largest trading bloc of India.
- According to data from the commerce ministry, India’s exports to the GCC member countries grew by 58.26 per cent to about USD 44 billion in 2021-22 against USD 27.8 billion in 2020-21.
Gulf Cooperation Council
- About
- The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, is a regional, intergovernmental, political, and economic union.
- Foundation
- An agreement established by GCC concluded in 1981.
- Members
- Bahrain
- Kuwait
- Oman
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- UAE
- The structure
- The structure of the GCC consists of the Supreme Council (the highest authority), the Ministerial Council and the Secretariat General.
- The Secretariat is located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
What is Free Trade Agreement (FTA)?
- A free trade agreement is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports.
India’s Relations with the GCC
- Political
- The governments of the GCC members are India-friendly and Indian-friendly.
- The Prime Minister of India has received the ‘Order of Zayed’, the highest civilian order of the UAE and the ‘King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’, the third-highest civilian order of Bahrain.
- Economic
- The GCC states are among India’s key energy suppliers, and annual remittances from Indians in these countries are worth an estimated USD 4.8 billion.
- UAE also features in the top 10 sources of FDI inflows into India.
- Security
- India and the GCC are members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
- India and Oman hold annual bilateral exercises across all three wings of the armed forces (Army Exercise ‘Al Najah’, Air Force Exercise ‘Eastern Bridge’, Naval Exercise ‘Naseem al Bahr’).
- India has a bilateral naval (In-UAE BILAT) and an air force exercise (Desert Eagle-II) with the UAE.
- Diaspora
- More than half of the total 13.46 million NRIs were concentrated in the Gulf countries, with UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait accounting for around 3.42 million, 2.6 million, and 1.03 million Indians, respectively.
- Strategic relations
- From the strategic point of view, India and GCC share the desire for political stability and security in the region.
- India and GCC’s common political and security concerns translate into efforts for peace, security and stability in the Gulf region and South Asia.
Content Source: Zee News