Joint meetings and visits

Energy & Minerals supplies the gas as feedstock, at below market price, under a long-term Gas Supply Agreement (valid upto 2025) with OMIFCO.

Joint meetings and visits

Economic cooperation between India and Oman is reviewed through the institutional mechanism of India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting (JCM). Its 9th session, held through a virtual platform on 19 October 2020, was cochaired by Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of the Sultanate of Oman and Hardeep Singh Puri, Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Industry. The meeting, not only reviewed the recent developments in trade and investment ties but also reaffirmed the commitment to expand the bilateral trade and encourage businesses to invest in each other’s country in order to realize untapped potential in the commercial and economic relationship2 . Both sides, among other things, agreed to cooperate in areas of Agriculture & Food Security, Standards & Metrology, Tourism, Information Technology, Health & Pharmaceuticals, MSMEs, Space, Civil Aviation, Energy including Renewable Energy, Culture, Mining, and Higher Education. They also reviewed the progress of prospective Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) in the field of mining, standards and metrology, financial intelligence, cultural exchange, and information technology, and agreed to conclude them expeditiously. Both sides also agreed to expedite their internal procedures for signing and ratification of the protocol amending India-Oman Double Taxation Agreement and conclusion of the India-Oman Bilateral Investment Treaty. Traditionally, a meeting of India-Oman Joint Business Council (JBC) also takes place parallel to JCM and serves as a platform for interaction between captains of industry in India and Oman. In the JBC held on the same day, both countries agreed to expedite their internal procedures for signing and ratification of a protocol to amend the bilateral double taxation agreement and conclusion of an investment treaty. A statement issued after the meeting said: Both sides also agreed to expedite their internal procedures for signing and ratification of the protocol amending India-Oman Double Taxation Agreement and conclusion of the India-Oman Bilateral Investment Treaty.3

2 The Embassy of India in Oman: www.indemb-oman.gov.in 3 Press Trust of India. (2019, October 19)

Indian business delegations, coordinated by various Indian Chambers, regularly visit Oman to participate in trade exhibitions like BIG Show, Infra Oman, COMEX, IMTEC, Oman Health Exhibition & Conference, Oman Food & Hospitality Exhibition, Mineral and Mining Exhibition and Oil and Gas West Asia. Similarly, Omani business delegations also visit India to participate in exhibitions related to sectors like Health, Food, Ceramics, IT and Electronics. To facilitate interactions and tie-ups between business communities of India and Oman, the Indian Embassy regularly organizes various sector-specific Business-to-Business Meetings. The Embassy also organizes ‘India Business Forum’ regularly and an annual ‘Invest in India’ Seminar. The Embassy also organizes events aimed at promotion of tourism and medical tourism to India.

Officials, economists and experts familiar with Oman-India relations are of the opinion that trade and investments between the two countries will remain strong because of the ability of both nations to fulfil the needs of the other. During a meeting on Oman-India Investment on 29 September 2019 in Muscat, Hilal bin Hamad al Hasani, Chief Executive Officer of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates, which is now known as Madayn, said: Oman and India enjoy long-term official, friendly, historical, cultural, and economic relations. The industrial scene in Oman is seeing dynamic investment activity from the Indian investors. In fact, the Indian investors are among the top three nationalities investing in Madayn’s various industrial cities across Oman. The industrial scene in Oman is seeing dynamic investment activity from the Indian investors.4

With the aim of boosting Oman-Indian investment ties, Madayn has set up a representative office in India to promote Oman and Madayn as an attractive destination for investments.

Madayn was established in 1993 to ensure continued success and development of the industrial sector in Oman. Today, it manages and operates seven industrial cities in Suhar, Raysut, Nizwa, Sur, Al Buraimi, Al Rusayl, Samail, in addition to the Knowledge Oasis Muscat and Al Mazunah Free Zone. Yahya bin Said al Jabri, during his tenure as chairman of the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (SEZAD), during the Oman-India Investment webinar on July 28 2020, commended the commercial and investment cooperation between the Sultanate and India and the historical relations between the two nations, explaining that trade between both countries flourished in the recent years in a number of areas, most notably in healthcare, agriculture and trade.

4 ‘Madayn lures Indian companies’. (2019, September 30). Construction Week.

He said:

I strongly believe that there are a number of opportunities, which our Indian counterparts can potentially leverage within the Special Economic Zone at Duqm. I am confident that this event will serve as a platform for the ongoing business relationship between our two nations, as it is indeed a long-standing relationship with interrelated interests and mutual friendship.5 Nasima al Balushi, Director General for Investment and Export at Ithraa, (Oman’s inward investment and export development agency, which was dissolved in August 2020 and is now part of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries) said that Omani companies would continue to invest in industries such as food processing, energy, infrastructure, tourism, fisheries, mining, and manufacturing in India. Al Balushi said: The appetite to explore India is there. The number of Omani companies participating in recent trade missions to India is testament to that and we certainly have the business experience and expertise to contribute to India’s continued economic success. Oman has an outstanding reputation in manufacturing, fisheries, tourism, logistics, mining and of course, in oil and gas. We’re also home to a sizeable Indian diaspora – these are just some of the qualities that make the Sultanate an attractive destination for Indian investors. And from an export perspective, India offers Omani firms a large, high-growth market. There is so much potential waiting in so many areas. We look forward to taking discussions to the next stage and welcoming Indian firms to Oman.

5 Oman News Agency. (July 28, 2020).