The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council has stated that the free trade agreement negotiation between GCC and India, and the signing of the joint statement, is a milestone in a new stage of strategic partnership.
The Saudi Press Agency reported that Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi stated that this helps to improve the close cooperation and the reinforcement of economic and trade ties.
This followed the signing of the joint statement on the initiation of the free trade agreement negotiations between the Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Al-Budaiwi, and the Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, Piyush Goyal, in New Delhi on Tuesday.
In the signing ceremony, Al-Budaiwi noted that the Terms of Reference, which were signed on February 5, give a clear step-by-step outline of these negotiations. The two countries decided to negotiate on improving their collaboration in critical strategic sectors such as trade in goods, customs operations, and services.
Moreover, the framework also addresses Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights, cooperation on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, and other areas of mutual interest. This shows how comprehensive the agreement is and how it can still remain in line with the future economy.
Al-Budaiwi said that he hoped that these talks would result in a broad-based and ambitious free trade agreement that can work towards eliminating both customs and non-customs barriers, boost the mobility of quality investments in either direction, and bring about further liberalization of both trade and investment relations between the GCC and India in the best interest of both countries.
This would offer an invigorating economic landscape and investment environment that opens wide prospects to the business sector, supply chains, and propels the rate of economic growth in accordance with the grandiose developmental goals of GCC states.
The highest authority confirmed the entire preparedness of the General Secretariat to receive the first round of negotiations at its headquarters in Riyadh in the second half of this year.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the current relations of cooperation between the GCC and India and how to evolve and expand them to new boundaries that would benefit both parties and would allow increasing the opportunities to engage in a strategic partnership between the two sides, especially in the spheres of economics, investments, and trade.
They commended the role played by the negotiating teams on both sides, noting the efforts that led to the signing of a comprehensive agreement that advances economic integration and facilitates the free flow of trade between the two countries.
