Muscat: The joint commission meeting (JCM) between Oman-India was held virtually yesterday, co-chaired by Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of Oman, and Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, India. The Indian side appreciated Oman for signing and ratification of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework Agreement.
The JCM was attended by representatives of various government departments and ministries from both sides. There are thriving and robust economic and commercial relations between India and Oman with India featuring among Oman’s top trading partners. There are over 4,100 Indian enterprises and establishments in Oman with an estimated investment of $7.5 billion. Cumulative FDI equity inflows from Oman to India during the period April 2000-June 2020 amounted to $535.07 million.
India is the third largest source for Oman’s imports as well as the third biggest for its non-oil exports. Bilateral trade between India and Oman grew at 8.5% in 2019-20 over the previous year to reach $5.93 billion. While India’s exports to Oman were valued at $2.26 billion, India’s imports from Oman amounted $3.67 billion in 2019-2020.
During the meeting, both sides reviewed the recent developments in trade and investment ties and reaffirmed their commitment to expand the bilateral trade and encourage business investments in both countries.
The main areas of cooperation between the two nations that were discussed during the JCM were agriculture and food security, standards and metrology, tourism, information technology, health and pharmaceuticals, MSMEs, space, civil aviation, energy including renewable energy, culture, mining, and higher education.
Puri highlighted the recent initiatives taken by the Indian Government for improving the ease of doing business and to boost domestic manufacturing in India. He brought home the point on production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for various sectors, and invited Omani Sovereign Wealth Funds and private businesses to invest in India.
Both sides agreed to nominate a focal point from their respective Ministries of Commerce and Industry to carry forward the follow up on the discussions held and the decisions taken during the JCM.
