India and Oman have commenced negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA), sources in the Indian government said on Wednesday, December 13.
According to the sources, a delegation comprising officials of India’s ministry of commerce are currently in Muscat, Oman, to hold talks on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, with an internal target of completing negotiations by the end of this month.
The talks are significant because efforts to conclude an omnibus FTA with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region, comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been in a limbo for the past one year, largely attributed in India to differences on terms of agreement with Saudi Arabia.
If India and Oman are successful in clinching an agreement, it will be the second bilateral pact after the India-UAE trade pact finalized earlier.
Bilateral trade between India and Oman amounted to an estimated $4.48 billion in 2022-23, up 42 percent over the previous fiscal year.