Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 05:43pm on 05 Feb 2026,Thursday India Global
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced India will restart free trade agreement negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. This follows India's recent trade deals with the EU and US. Goyal emphasized 5,000 years of trade relations and 10 million Indians working in GCC economies. The announcement comes months after Pakistan-Saudi Arabia renewed their Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement in September 2025, following India-Pakistan tensions during Operation Sindoor. Meanwhile, UAE-Pakistan ties have soured after UAE scrapped Islamabad International Airport management deal and strengthened relations with India, agreeing to double bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2032 during President Al Nahyan's Delhi visit.
