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FTA with Gulf countries is on course: Kamal Nath

The latest round of discussions in Riyadh is fruitful

NEW DELHI: India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will finalise a Free Trade Agreement by early 2007, Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, said at the India-GCC Industrial Conference in Muscat on Saturday.

Mr. Kamal Nath said India and the GCC had made significant progress in pursuing the FTA proposal, while recalling that in August 2004, he had signed the Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation with the GCC, committing both countries to broad-based economic cooperation and a long-term commercial partnership, as well as to specifically examining the possibility of an FTA.

He noted that the outcome of the latest round of discussions three days ago in Riyadh had been fruitful. "We have also agreed to expand the scope to include services and investment, thus making it a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement instead of a mere FTA,'' Mr. Kamal Nath said in an official release issued here.

Stressing the strategic relevance of the Gulf region for India, Mr. Kamal Nath invited investors and entrepreneurs of the Gulf region to avail themselves of the exciting new opportunities in India."There is convergence of interests between India and the GCC countries in the present global economic environment. While the GCC countries are experiencing a period of rapid growth propelled by the oil revenue windfall on account of high oil prices, in the economic reconfiguration India has emerged as a favourite investment destination. The global comparative advantages of India make her the most attractive and natural partner for the GCC countries,'' he said in the release. The GCC consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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