Riyadh, Sep 8 (IANS) India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) discussed deepening cooperation across various pillars of the India-GCC Joint Action Plan (JAP) 2024-2028 – including political dialogue, security, trade and investment, agriculture and food security, transportation, energy, health, culture and education – during the two-day India-GCC Political Dialogue which concluded in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh on Monday.
Arun Kumar Chatterjee, Secretary (CPV & OIA) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) led the Indian delegation for the dialogue that engaged in wide-ranging discussions with Abdulaziz Aluwaisheg, Assistant Secretary General (ASG) for Political Affairs and Negotiations of GCC.
During the meeting, the two sides also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interests. For the meeting, Chatterjee was accompanied by Additional Secretary (Gulf) Aseem R Mahajan.
The Secretary held a separate bilateral meeting with Raja M. Marzoqi, General Coordinator for Negotiations and Head of the Negotiating Team of the GCC. Both sides underlined the importance of the India-GCC FTA and agreed on the commencement of negotiations at an early date. They also discussed new avenues to deepen trade and investment ties between India and the GCC.
The GCC was established by an agreement in Riyadh in 1981 among Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE in view of their special relations, geographic proximity similar political systems based on Islamic beliefs, joint destiny and common objectives.
India and GCC countries share historically close and friendly ties, underpinned by vibrant trade linkages and strong people-to-people ties. Ties between India and GCC countries in recent years have deepened in various sectors, including trade, investment, energy, health, technology and cultural exchanges. Nearly 10 million Indian diaspora reside in the GCC region. Trade and Investment between India and GCC continues to increase with total trade of around USD 178 Billion in FY 2024-25.
“Secretary (CPV and OIA) also attended a special reception hosted by the Embassy of India and the Indian diaspora living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Speaking on the occasion, Secretary (CPV & OIA) commended the valuable contribution made by the Indian community in strengthening the bilateral relations of India with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also appreciated their significant role in the economic development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He thanked the leadership of Saudi Arabia for taking care of the welfare of the Indian diaspora,” read a statement issued by the MEA.
Last year, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar co-chaired the India–GCC Joint Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue along with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, then-President of the GCC Ministerial Council. This was the first meeting between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at the Foreign Ministers level.
The meeting adopted a Joint Action Plan 2024-2028 for undertaking various joint activities in various sectors including health, trade, security, agriculture and food security, culture, transportation, energy, amongst others, according to MEA statement. The two sides had also decided that more areas of cooperation can be included in the Joint Action Plan, based on mutual consensus, later on.
–IANS
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