India and Qatar are expected to finalise the terms of reference (ToR) this week to initiate talks for a free trade agreement (FTA), the commerce ministry said on Sunday. The move comes ahead of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s two-day visit to Doha, beginning October 6.Goyal will attend the Qatar-India Joint Commission on Trade and Commerce meeting, co-chaired by Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani, Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, according to PTI report. He will be accompanied by senior officials from multiple ministries and a business delegation.During the visit, the two sides are expected to hold wide-ranging discussions, reviewing bilateral trade performance, addressing trade barriers and non-tariff issues, and exploring avenues to enhance trade and investment flows.“The talks are likely to include deliberations on the proposed India-Qatar FTA, with the way forward on finalisation of the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which will further strengthen economic cooperation between both countries,” the ministry said. ToR typically lays down the modalities for negotiations of a trade pact.Cooperation in sectors such as finance, agriculture, environment, tourism, culture, and healthcare will also form part of the discussions.Qatar is a key trading partner of India in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with bilateral trade exceeding$14 billion in 2024-25. The GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. India already has a trade pact with the UAE, while a similar deal with Oman is likely. Goyal has earlier stated that a GCC-wide FTA proposal is not under consideration at present.In February 2025, India and Qatar agreed to double bilateral trade to$28 billion over the next five years.