PM Modi holds bilateral with Oman Sultan Haitham bin Tarik as discussions on free trade pact ongoing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tarik, held a bilateral meeting at the Hyderabad House on Saturday (Dec 16), focussing on reinforcing the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the two nations.India is the third country Haitham bin Tarik has travelled to followingIran and Singapore after becoming the Sultan of his country.

The Oman Sultan's three-day state visit, commencing on December 15, began with a warm welcome at the Delhi airport by Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan.

The visit marked a significant milestone in the diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Muscat. The official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Arindam Bagchi said, "Giving a boost to India-Oman Strategic Partnership! PM @narendramodi warmly received His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman at Hyderabad House, setting the stage for bilateral discussions. Agenda includes taking stock of bilateral ties and charting pathways for the future collaboration between the two countries."

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The bilateral meeting at the Hyderabad House saw PM Modi warmly receiving Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, setting the stage for discussions on the future collaborations between the two countries.

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The diplomatic relations between India and Oman were established in 1955 and upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2008. The visit presented an opportunity to explore avenues for future collaboration, focussing on regional stability, progress, and prosperity, according to the MEA release.

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Notably, India and Oman share deep-rooted historical, cultural, and economic ties, with people-to-people contact spanning over 5,000 years. Oman is India's closest defence partner in the Gulf region, and defence cooperation has emerged as a key pillar of the strategic partnership.

As a gesture of recognition, India extended a special invitation to the Sultanate of Oman to participate in the G20 Summit and meetings as a guest country under India's G20 Presidency.

On Oman's Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik's India visit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said that discussions are ongoing between the two countries for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

"Although the negotiations on CEPA have started only recently, they have made substantial progress in the last few rounds of discussion and both leaders gave strong impetus and push to conclude the CEPA agreement as early as possible..." he added.

Oman's Sultan also congratulated PM Modi for a successful G20 Summit hosted by New Delhi.

"The two leaders adopted the India-Oman joint vision- bath for bilateral engagement under Oman 2040 and PM Modi’s 'Amrit kal vision'... Vision Document focuses on building a partnership in Maritime, energy security, green energy, space, digital payment, full bucket of health tourism, disaster management, agriculture and food security and cricket..." Kwatra added.

(With inputs from agencies)