New rounds of India-Oman FTA talks from January 16
Zawya - 13 January 2024
New rounds of India-Oman FTA talks from January 16
The new round of talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Oman will start on January 16 and the negotiations for the pact are progressing well, according to official reports from India.
The talks on most of the chapters have been concluded by both sides for the pact, officially dubbed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
"The negotiations are progressing well. Two rounds of in-person negotiations and many inter-sessional meetings have already been held. Good progress has been made on all the chapters covered under the CEPA," the official said.
Economic relations between India and the Sultanate of Oman are witnessing a strong recovery, as bilateral trade has doubled from $5.4 billion in 2020-2021 to $12.3 billion in the fiscal year 2022-2023.
He also noted that India is among the largest investors in the Sultanate of Oman, as it has a strong presence in ports and free zones in Sohar, Salalah, and increasingly in Duqm.
India is one of the most important trading partners of the Sultanate of Oman, as it is among the top five countries in terms of the value of trade exchange with the Sultanate of Oman.
The intra-regional trade with the Republic of India represents about eight percent of the total volume of trade exchange of the Sultanate of Oman with world countries in 2022.
The trade balance of bilateral trade between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of India tends in favor of Oman, especially in the recent years 2021 and 2022.
