RAS question
India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) signed a Joint Statement in February 2026 to launch negotiations for which agreement?
Correct answer: (B) Free Trade Agreement.
India and the Gulf Cooperation Council signed a Joint Statement in February 2026 to formally launch negotiations for the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement.
Explanation
The agreement named in the Joint Statement was the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement, usually shortened to the India-GCC FTA. The PIB release describes the Joint Statement as formally launching negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement, with the Terms of Reference for the FTA also marking a milestone in India-GCC ties. India and the GCC were pursuing an FTA negotiation, not a CEPA, BIT, or PTA. The economic context also places the development under Indian Economy: the GCC is described as India's largest trading partner bloc, so the instrument under negotiation is a trade agreement with direct relevance to India's external sector.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is not the term used in the official Joint Statement; the PIB release names the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement.
- (C) Bilateral Investment Treaty does not fit the official wording, which says the negotiations were for an FTA and links it to trade and investment ties with the GCC as a bloc.
- (D) Preferential Trade Agreement is too narrow because the PIB release specifically identifies the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement as the agreement under negotiation.
Concept
The Indian Economy syllabus covers external trade policy and India's trade agreements. RAS often tests recent economic diplomacy through the exact agreement or institution involved.