The Union Cabinet on Friday approved the proposed Free Trade Agreement between India and Oman, clearing the way for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement as Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for his visit to the Gulf nation next week. The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister.
The approval comes ahead of the Prime Minister’s three-nation tour to Jordan, Ethiopia and Oman from December 15 to 18, a visit expected to strengthen India’s economic and strategic engagement across West Asia and Africa. The Prime Minister will travel to Oman on December 17 and 18 at the invitation of Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. This will be his second visit to the country and coincides with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
India and Oman share a long-standing strategic partnership built on trade links, energy cooperation and deep cultural ties. The Cabinet’s decision follows the Oman Shura Council’s approval of the proposed FTA a day earlier. Negotiations for the agreement began officially in November 2023.
According to official figures, bilateral trade has remained strong. Trade between the two countries stood at 8.947 billion US dollars in 2023–24 and rose to 10.613 billion US dollars in 2024–25. Investment flows have been similarly robust, with more than 6,000 India–Oman joint ventures operating in Oman. These ventures account for an estimated 7.5 billion US dollars in capital over time, including formal outward investment and third-country investments channelled by Indian companies. Oman’s cumulative FDI equity inflows into India between April 2000 and March 2025 amounted to 605.57 million US dollars.
Oman continues to be one of India’s key partners in the region and an important interlocutor within the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League and the Indian Ocean Rim Association. India’s ties with Oman are rooted in centuries of exchange, with documented contacts spanning nearly 5,000 years. Diplomatic relations were formalised in 1955 and elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2008.
-IANS
