With maritime security in focus, Oman FM to visit India on March 23

With maritime security in focus, Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi will be on a two-day India visit. He will land in New Delhi on March 23.

This is the first ever visit of the Oman FM to India after taking charge. He is expected to hold talks with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Wednesday and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday (March 24).

Oman is strategically located straddling the Strait of Hormuz in the north and Bab al-Mandab Strait in the south, and plays an important role in the maritime security of the region.

Oman is the only country in the Gulf region which holds joint exercises with India’s all three defence forces.

The West Asian country also provides key logistics support to Indian ships and aircraft in the region for anti-piracy and maritime security missions.

Badr was appointed as Omani Foreign Minister in August 2020, and had earlier served as Secretary General in Omani Foreign Ministry since 2007.

The last Omani foreign minister to visit India was in April 2017, while Jaishankar had visited the country in December 2019.

Badr and Jaishankar had met two times before. First in August 2021 in Tehran on the sidelines of oath-taking ceremony of the new president of Iran, and later in December 2021 in UAE on the sidelines of 5th Indian Ocean Conference. Both also held a virtual meeting in December 2020.

Oman is India's key interlocutor in the West Asian region. The country has been playing a constructive role in regional conflicts, including in relations to Yemen and Iran.

Recently, Oman played a critical role in the release of two British citizens of Iranian origin, Anoosheh Ashoori and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from Iran.

Both of them were first brought to Oman from Iran on March 16, 2022, before their departure to the UK. The country's role was widely appreciated by the UK leadership.

The visit of Omani foreign minister comes even has this year has seen a number of high-level visits from the country from, especially on the defence side

The Secretary General of Oman’s Ministry of Defence Dr Mohammed Al-Zaabi visited India on January 30 this year for a five-day visit to chair the Joint Military Cooperation Committee (JMCC), co-chaired with the defence secretary.

During the visit, he became the first foreign dignitary to embark on India’s Indigenous Aircraft Carrier —Vikrant.

This was immediately followed by the visit of Commander of Royal Navy of Oman Rear Admiral Saif bin Nasser Al Rahbi to India.

Last month also saw the latest edition of bilateral air force exercise “Eastern Bridge VI” at Air Force Station in western Jodhpur city.

Apart from security and defence ties, Oman is also one of the important trade partners for India.

India-Oman trade stood at US$ 5.443 billion (export – US $2.35 billion and imports at US $3.09 billion). In the three quarters of the financial year 2021-22, bilateral trade has increased to the US $6.5 billion.

Excluding the oil and gas sector, India is the largest investor in Oman with over 4,100 Indian enterprises and establishments in Oman with an estimated investment of US$ 7.5 billion.

Amid the Covid pandemic, India became the first country to gift 100,000 doses of Covishield vaccine to Oman in January 2021.