India-Gulf Cooperation Council

• The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a collective entity has tremendous significance for India. The Gulf constitutes the “immediate” neighbourhood of India separated only by the Arabian Sea. India, therefore, has a vital stake in the stability , security and economic well being of the Gulf. 
• As a group, the GCC has been increasingly determining the economy, political and security policies of its member States. The GCC countries are moving ahead rapidly with their economic integration efforts. The GCC has emerged as a major trading partner of India.
• It has vast potential as India’s investment partner for the future. The GCC’s substantial oil and gas reserves are of utmost importance for India’s energy needs. The GCC countries are collectively host to a large Indian expatriate community. In short, the GCC offers tremendous potential for cooperation in trade, investment, energy, manpower, etc.

Objectives:

• Coordination, integration and inter-connection between Member States in all fields.
• Strengthening ties between their peoples.
• Formulating similar regulations in various fields such as economy, finance, trade, customs, tourism, legislation, administration.
• Fostering scientific and technical progress in industry, mining, agriculture, water and animal resources.
• Establishing scientific research centres, setting up joint ventures, and encouraging cooperation of the private sector.

Challenges:

• Indian Workers Want to Return to Arab Countries
• Cooperation

Economic and Commercial Relations:

• India enjoys traditionally cordial relations and cooperation with the GCC. India’s old, historical ties with GCC States, coupled with increasing imports of oil and gas, growing trade and investment, and presence of approximately 6.5 million Indian workers in the region, are of vital interest to India. 
• India’s economic linkage with the GCC have increased steadily, especially due to growth in oil imports. During 2015-16, India’s exports to GCC were US $ 41.71 billion.
• The bilateral two-way trade during the period was  US$ 97.46 billion, registering a decline of about 27% over the previous year.

India’s trade with GCC countries:

Countries	2013-14			2014-15			2015-16
	Import	Export	Total	Import	Export	Total	Import	Export	Total
KSA	36,403.65	12,218.96	48,622.61	28,107.56	11,162.55	39,270.11	20,314.81	6,395.76	26,710.57
UAE	29,019.82	30,520.42	59,540.24	26,139.91	33,028.08	59,167.99	19,424.88	30,321.07	49,745.95
Oman	2,951.18	2,812.27	5,763.45	1,752.24	2,379.44	4,131.68	1,673.00	2,191.09	3,864.09
Kuwait	17,153.55	1,061.14	18,214.69	13,381.97	1,198.89	14,580.86	4,967.81	1,246.37	6,214.18
Qatar	15,707.99	969.06	16,677.05	14,604.71	1,054.98	15,659.69	9,018.53	903.18	9,921.71
Bahrain	563.24	639.36	1,202.60	446.25	472.98	919.23	356.90	654.21	1,011.11
Total	101,799.43	48,221.21	150,020.64	84,432.64	49,296.92	133,729.56	55,755.93	41,711.68	97,467.61

 

---

Read Also Gaza Strip