Qaboos to be honoured at India parade

Muscat: Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman is to be honoured as chief guest at India’s Republic Day parade next year, Indian media reported.

India is also expected to present the sultan with the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding, which was announced for him in 2004, the Indian Express reported.

Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid will officially communicate the decision to Oman’s Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, Yousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, who will be attending the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation meeting in Gurgaon, south of Delhi, on November 2.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Muscat in 2008, where it was agreed that bilateral ties should be transformed to a strategic partnership.