State visit of Sultan of Oman to India

• Context (PIB): The Head of State of the Sultanate of Oman, His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, for the first time in history, was on a state visit to India.

Keynotes from the Visit

• The India-Oman Vision Document was signed reflecting the convergence of India’s Amritkaal vision and Oman’s “Vision 2040”.
• Both countries expressed cooperation in digital connectivity, cyber security, financial crimes, medical tourism and maritime security.
• The third tranche of the Oman-India Investment Fund was announced, a 50:50 collaboration between the State Bank of India and Oman Investment Authority.
• An Oman Desk in Invest India and an India Desk in Invest Oman would be created.
• The establishment of a Hindi chair of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in Oman was announced.
• The Ministry of Culture announced recreating the stitched ship’s journey from Mandvi, Gujarat, to Muscat in the 2025-26 voyage.
• The possibility of leveraging India’s UPI for a corresponding Omani platform, along with discussions on trade in the Rupee was considered.
• Progress on negotiations on the India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was appraised.

India-Oman relations: Convergences

• Historical Ties: Links between the Makran coast of Oman and Meluha of Indus Civilisation establish age-old people-to-people contact.
• Geographical Proximity: Oman is the closest neighbour to India in the Arabian Gulf region.
• Strategic Relations: Diplomatic relations were established in 1955 and upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2008.
• Trade and Investment: Bilateral trade between both countries increased to USD 12.39 billion in 2022-2023 from USD 5.4 billion in 2020-2021.
• Defence Ties: Currently, Oman is the only country in West Asia with which all three services of the Indian Armed Forces conduct regular bilateral exercises.
  • Joint military drill “Al-Najah” and naval exercises named “Eastern Bridge” and “Naseem-al-Bahr” are conducted between India and Oman.
• Maritime Security: Operation Sankalp during the Persian Gulf crisis in June 2019 to ensure the safe passage of Indian-flagged ships and MoU on Duqm Port signifies maritime cooperation.
• International groupings: The Sultanate of Oman is an important interlocutor at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Arab League, and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) for India.

Duqm Port Duqm port is located in southern Oman on the Arabian Sea and close to the Strait of Hormuz. Through the Gulf of Aden, it provides easy access into the Red Sea.

Challenges in India-Oman Relations

• Slow Progress of the Middle East to India Deepwater Pipeline (MEIDP) limits the cooperation potential.
• China factor: With Oman’s biggest oil importer and Belt and Road initiative China poses a challenge.
• Global diplomatic challenges: Allegations of Oman backing the Houthi rebels in Yemen may lead to diplomatic challenges for the India-Oman relations.
• Trade skewed towards oil import: With India targeting a reduction in fossil fuel consumption, oil imports and subsequent trade relations may hamper.

Way Forward

• The proposed India-Middle-East-Europe Connectivity Corridor (IMEEC) infrastructure project would open new avenues for cooperation between the two countries.