NEW DELHI — The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary General Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf, currently on a visit to India, discussed with the Indian Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal ways of strengthening trade and economic relations and working to start free trade negotiations by 2022.

The two sides, during the official talks Thursday, agreed to establish a joint working group consisting of representatives from both sides to study all aspects of economic and trade relations between GCC and India, with the aim of reaching the launch of free trade negotiations in 2022 so as to serve their common interests.

The two officials took up discussions regarding Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and deeper investments. It is also Al-Hajraf's first official visit to India.

In a tweet, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister stated that he had a productive conversation with Dr. Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf on ways to enhance engagement between India and the GCC.

Goyal stated that the decision aimed to use free trade and deeper investments as a method to champion the aforementioned cause in the Gulf world.

According to a press release issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Al-Hajraf arrived on Tuesday for his first official visit to India. On arrival, Al-Hajraf made his acquaintance with India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar.

Both leaders recalled the historic and friendly relations that India and GCC shared, which have seen robust progress in recent years. They undertook a detailed review of the India-GCC relations and discussed ways to further enhance them.

Al-Hajraf lauded the contribution of the Indian community to the Gulf countries and said that GCC wants to be a partner of India in its economic growth.

The GCC, as a collective entity, has tremendous significance for India. The Gulf constitutes for the "immediate" neighborhood of India and therefore, India has a vital stake in the stability, security and economic well being of the Gulf.

The GCC countries are moving ahead rapidly with their economic integration efforts. The GCC has emerged as a major trading partner of India. The GCC holds a lot of potential in emerging as India's investment partner in the times to come.

In 2020-21, India’s exports to GCC was worth $28.06 billion. The bilateral two-way trade during the period was $87.36 billion, registering a decline of about 27% from the previous year.