New Delhi, December 20 (IANS). India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will boost India’s export competitiveness. Along with this, supply of energy will also be ensured at the right prices. This information was given in a report released on Saturday.
CEPA aims to enhance trade and investment and expand export opportunities for labour-intensive micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sectors such as textiles, leather, footwear, gems and jewelery and engineering products, a Bank of Baroda report said.
Apart from this, it also aims to increase service commitment in education, health, computer, business, professional and R&D services.
“This is a major step towards increasing India’s global market access and improving export competitiveness,” the bank said.
Under CEPA, Indian goods have been allowed zero duty access on 98.08 per cent of Oman’s tariff lines, while India has given zero duty access to Omani goods on 77.79 per cent of its total tariff lines.
India’s exports to Oman stood at $4.1 billion in FY25, which is about 0.9 per cent of total exports and have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.4 per cent in the last five years.
It said the agreement will help reduce India’s oil import bill and explore more alternatives in the future, adding that the key sectors outlined in the agreement account for about 39 percent of India’s total exports to Oman.
“This bodes well for India’s overall export basket, at a time when some exports are being re-routed to take cost advantage due to higher tariff rates by the US,” the report said.
The bank said the zero-duty agreement covers 99.38 per cent of India’s exports to Oman by value and 94.81 per cent of India’s imports from Oman by value.
–IANS
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