India and Oman will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) on December 18 in Muscat in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be in the country after completing his tour of Jordan and Ethiopia.
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, is in Muscat for the FTA signing, while Commerce Secretary, Rajesh Agrawal, is also scheduled to reach Oman, an official said.
Talks for the FTA, officially termed as CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement), formally began between the two countries in November 2023, with the negotiations concluding this year.
The pact aims to boost economic ties between India and Oman, with the latter being the third-largest export destination for India among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that include Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
India-Oman bilateral trade was about USD 10.5 billion (exports USD 4 billion and imports USD 6.54 billion) in 2024-25, with key imports for India being petroleum products and urea – accounting for over 70 per cent of all imports.
Other key products that India imports are propylene and ethylene polymers, pet coke, gypsum, chemicals, iron and steel, and unwrought aluminium, while it exports mineral fuels, chemicals, precious metals, iron and steel, cereals, ships, boats and floating structures, electrical machinery, boilers, tea, coffee, spices, apparel, and food items.
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In free trade agreements, the two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on a maximum number of goods traded between them, while also easing norms to promote trade in services and attract investments.
India has already inked a similar agreement with another GCC member, the UAE, which came into effect in May 2022, while talks between India and Qatar for a trade pact are also expected to start soon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a four-day, three-nation visit. He departed for Oman from Ethiopia on Wednesday, where he elevated the India-Ethiopia ties to the level of ‘Strategic Partnership’.
PM Modi is visiting Oman at the invitation of Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, marking 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The visit follows the state visit of Sultan Tarik to India in December 2023.
The two leaders will hold discussions on strengthening the strategic partnership as well as a strong commercial and economic relationship, besides PM Modi addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora in Muscat.
“This visit will be an opportunity for both sides to comprehensively review the bilateral partnership, including in the areas of trade, investment, energy, defence, security, technology, agriculture and culture as well as exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest,” the Ministry of External Affairs had said in an earlier statement.
It will be PM Modi’s second visit to Oman.
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