India-Oman free trade agreement likely to be inked next month

Negotiations for the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Oman are moving at a fast pace and the pact is likely to be signed next month, media reports quoting official sources said.

Officials of the two countries concluded the second round of talks for the pact, officially described as Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) earlier this month in Muscat.

With Oman, there is a very good progress and both sides are very eager to conclude this deal. It may be signed in January 2024,”. The negotiations on the text of most of the chapters have been concluded by both sides, the official was quoted by the reports as saying.

Oman is India’s third-largest export destination among the Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) countries. The pact would help increase exports from India post the free trade agreement, as currently over 80 per cent of its goods enter Oman at an average 5 per cent import duties. There are not many trade barriers between the two countries.

 Indian goods like gasoline, iron and steel, electronics, and machinery will get a significant boost in Oman, once both sides reach a comprehensive free trade agreement.

 The bilateral trade India and Oman stood at 12.39 billion US dollars in 2022-23. India’s exports have increased from 2.25 billion US dollars in 2018-19 to 4.48 billion billion US dollars in 2022-23.