India, Oman agree to expedite FTA talks

MUSCAT: India and Oman have agreed to expedite the discussions for an early signing of the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which is under advanced stages of negotiations.

The decision comes following the conclusion of the 11th India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting that was held in Muscat. The meeting was attended on Tuesday by Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry and HE Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotions.

The JCM saw productive discussions on enhancing bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, technology, food security, renewable energy, and other key areas.

The investments of Indian companies in Oman crossed RO 750 million till December 2023. Meanwhile, the accumulative investment flow from Oman to India reached RO 600 million during the years 2000-2024.

Qais Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion lauded the depth of trade and investment relations between the two countries. He also affirmed that the visit of His Majesty the Sultan to India on December 2023 was the first since more than 25 years. The visit constituted an important milestone in enhancing partnership between Oman and India.

Al Yousef added that trade between Oman and India saw noticeable growth over the past years and bilateral trade in 2023 reached RO 2.05 billion, which reflects the depth of these economic relations.

On his turn, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of India said that there many possibilities to expand business and investment relations between Oman and India, especially since negotiations have reached the final stages before reaching to a comprehensive economic partnership agreement between Oman and India.

Pankaj Khimji, Advisor for Foreign Trade and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation in the fields of technology, industry, agriculture, tourism and renewable energy. He also reiterated the Sultanate of Oman’s keenness to realize its economic vision by adopting innovative policies that contribute to economic growth.

For all the latest news from Oman and GCC, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}