Gulf Into Major Gulf Countries

　 A report released by the Dubai Federation of Commerce and industry in India recently revealed that India has become the largest trading partner of the Gulf Cooperation Committee. The annual growth rate of trade between India and Gulf Cooperation Council members from 2004 to 2008 exceeded 50%, the report said.

Statistics show that trade between India and Gulf Cooperation Council members in 2008 was as high as 91 billion US dollars, and the average growth rate over the past 5 years was over 50%. "India is the fastest growing economy in the world except China," said Mohammad Al Asoomi, a consultancy in the United Arab Emirates. "As a matter of fact, India has become the largest trading partner of the Gulf Cooperation Council two years ago," he said.

According to the report, the Gulf Cooperation Council has become India's largest source of imports and the second largest export destination. The United Arab Emirates of Saudi Arabia and Arabia are India's two largest trading partners in the Gulf region. Oil and natural gas are the main commodities imported by India from the Gulf countries, while India's exports to the Gulf countries are mainly concentrated in clothing, light industry, agricultural products and IT products. India has been the largest food supplier of the Gulf Cooperation Council. 70% of India's crude oil supply is dependent on imports from the Gulf States.

Statistics show that the proportion of the Gulf Cooperation Council in India's total import and export volume has increased from 8.6% in 2004 to 18.7% in 2008. Mohammad Al Asoomi said that India enjoys the geopolitical advantage in trade with the Gulf countries. Once India signed a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, the trade volume between the two sides will also increase significantly.