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Dubai: Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said yesterday he expects "substantial progress" in reaching a free trade deal (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council within one year.
A deal has been delayed because negotiators have been busy with trade talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), he said.
India was hoping to conclude an FTA with the GCC in 2007.
"We will be pushing this forward. We should make substantial progress in the next one year," Nath told reporters at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
He said there has been a slowdown in the negotiations "not because of any content issues but because of resource issue".
"The same people are negotiating everything, India is negotiating with the EU, Japan, [South] Korea, then they are doing the intensive WTO talks that have taken up the time of our negotiating teams," he said.
The FTA issue will also be discussed when Foreign Trade Minister Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi visits India today, Nath told Gulf News.
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