India, Qatar target mid-2026 for Free Trade Agreement signing: Piyush Goyal

DOHA: India and Qatar are on track to finalise a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by mid-2026, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced Monday during a business delegation visit aimed at expanding bilateral trade and investment.

“I would think that sometime by the middle of next year, or third quarter of next year, we will be able to finalise an FTA, if not earlier”, Goyal told reporters in Doha.

Qatar ranks among India’s key trading partners within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with bilateral trade totalling over $14.15 billion in 2024-25. The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

India has already secured a trade pact with the UAE and is expected to sign a similar agreement with Oman in the near future.

Co-chaired the India-Qatar Ministerial Joint Commission on Economic and Commercial Cooperation with H.E. Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani, Minister of Commerce and Industry of Qatar.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the India-Qatar partnership by… pic.twitter.com/kOo9fMHhJg

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) October 6, 2025

Minister Goyal held discussions with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani, on launching FTA negotiations. Both ministers agreed to fast-track the process to support their ambitious goal of doubling bilateral trade. “We will fast-track it so that trade and business can double by 2030 from $14 billion today to $30 billion,” Goyal said.

Regarding Qatar’s $10 billion investment commitment to India, Goyal reported significant progress. Qatar has already invested between $4-5 billion in India, with an additional $1-1.5 billion in the pipeline nearing finalisation.

“They are looking at good promoters and good projects in India, and I am hopeful that our associations like CII and FICCI will certainly provide very good opportunities for investment in manufacturing and services sectors like banking, insurance, AI, data centres, and real estate”, the minister said. He expressed confidence that Qatar’s investments could exceed the $10 billion target in the coming years.

India faces a substantial trade deficit with Qatar. In the last fiscal year, India’s exports to Qatar totalled $1.68 billion, while imports surged to $12.46 billion, creating a deficit of $10.78 billion. Indian exports to Qatar in 2024-25 included iron and steel products, rice, gold and precious metal jewellery, processed minerals, motor vehicles, petroleum products, electrical machinery, electronics, buffalo meat, and sugar.

From April 2000 to June 2025, India received $1.53 billion in foreign direct investment from Qatar. Co-chairing a meeting with business leaders from both nations, Goyal identified numerous opportunities for enhanced cooperation in agriculture, food products, non-conventional and renewable energy, data centres, tourism, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and artificial intelligence.

When asked whether increasing exports to Qatar could help offset high US tariffs on Indian goods, Goyal emphasised the strategic importance of the relationship. “Qatar is India’s trusted friend and trading partner. We want to strengthen our trade and mutual relations with Qatar, and we want to strengthen our relations with other countries as well”, he said. (ANI)