India’s trade with GCC nations increasing
India’s bilateral trade with GCC group countries has increased from US$ 87.4 billion in 2020-21 to US$ 154.73 billion in 2021-22.
It is noteworthy that due to the increasing economic ties between the two, there has been an increase in trade.
India’s exports to GCC grew by 58.26 percent in the year 2021-22.
The share of GCC countries in India’s total exports has increased to 10.4 percent. The GCC is a political, economic, social and regional organization.
Its members include Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Importance of India GCC Relations
- Trade and Commerce: In the year 2021-22, about one fifth of India’s total trade was done with GCC including Iraq.
- Energy Security: The substantial oil and gas reserves of the GCC are critical to India’s energy needs.
- Remittances: In the year 2017, the GCC countries alone accounted for 6% of the total remittance flows in India.
- Overseas population: The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait account for more than half of the total Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
In another development, India and Qatar have launched a start-up bridge between Invest India and Invest Qatar to advance the start-up sectors.
Source – The Hindu
