Muscat, December 17 (IANS). Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the proposed India-Oman Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) will create new opportunities in textiles, food processing, automobile, jewellery, agrochemicals, renewable energy and auto components.
Addressing the India-Oman Business Forum held in Muscat, Goyal described Oman as strategically important as the gateway to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa, providing better market access to Indian businesses.
Qais Al Yousuf, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of Oman, said that India has emerged as Oman’s third largest trading partner and Oman remains a major destination for Indian investments in strategic sectors.
He said Indian investment in Oman has more than tripled to $5 billion since 2020, with investments in sectors such as green steel, green ammonia, aluminum manufacturing and logistics.
Alkesh Joshi, tax partner of EY in Oman, while talking to news agency IANS, said that Oman has a lot of expectations from the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it is expected to seal the FTA between India and Oman.
He further said, “We all are eagerly waiting for PM Modi’s visit. The focus of this visit will be on the FTA between India and Oman and there is a lot of discussion about it in Oman too. At present, the trade between the two countries is worth 10.5 billion dollars. As soon as this agreement comes into force, the trade between the two countries can double in the next two to three years and this will provide opportunities to businessmen from both sides.
Joshi further said that relations between the two countries are very old. Recently, things from the Harappan period have been found in a village near Shur in Oman, which shows that trade relations between the two countries are 4 to 5 thousand years old.
–IANS
abs/