India and Oman set to sign trade deal

“It will help India with a strategic partner and access to key trade routes in a volatile region,” one official told.Although India and Oman have annual trade of less than $13 billion, the relationship is important for New Delhi as Oman is a gateway to the Strait of Hormuz between the country and Iran, a major transit point for global oil shipments.

The trade deal requires the approval of the next government after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections .

Oman has agreed to eliminate duties on Indian exports worth an annual $3 billion including agricultural products, gems and jewellery, leather, automobiles, medical devices, engineering products and textiles, the officials said. In a similar response, India has agreed to reduce duties on some petrochemicals, aluminium and copper from Oman, while capping imports of such goods. 

Significantly, India and Oman share a long-standing friendship rooted in historical, cultural, and economic ties. Furthermore, people-to-people contact between India and Oman can be traced back 5,000 years. The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1955 and were upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2008.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has spread to hostilities with Iran, and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea area, claiming solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. This has impeded global shipping and forced vessels to avoid the Red Sea route and use a longer route through Africa to reach their destinations.