India, Oman to give push to free trade deal negotiations

India and Oman agreed on Saturday to give a push to negotiations to finalise a bilateral free trade agreement even as the two sides adopted a vision document to shape ties in the coming decades during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sultan Haitham bin Tarik.

- Rezaul H Laskar

The two sides announced the third tranche of $300 million (about ₹2,500 crore) for the Oman-India Joint Investment Fund, a 50-50 joint venture between the State Bank of India and the Oman Investment Authority created to channel funds into the fastest growing sectors of the Indian economy.

Sultan Haitham is on his first visit to India since becoming Oman’s head of state in 2020 following the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. This is also the first visit by an Omani ruler to India in 26 years. Sultan Haitham held both one-on-one and delegation-level talks with Modi after being accorded a ceremonial welcome at the presidential palace.

In his opening remarks at talks between the two delegations, Modi said India and Oman are taking steps to build on their “unbreakable bond of deep friendship”.

“I am glad that discussions on CEPA [comprehensive economic partnership agreement] are ongoing between the two sides. Two rounds of talks have been successfully completed, in which consensus has been reached on many important issues,” he said, speaking in Hindi.

Modi hoped the two sides will be able to sign the pact soon to add a new chapter to their economic cooperation. Referring to the new “India-Oman Joint Vision: A partnership for future” which includes concrete action points for 10 sectors, he said: “I am confident this joint vision will give a new and modern shape to our partnership.”