Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that India may consider negotiating a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Oman. If the proposed trade deal goes through, Oman will be the second Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) after the United Arab Emirates to have a trade deal with India.
Experts have said that the Gulf countries are working to diversify from a traditional oil-based economy to a modern financial sector and free trade agreements (FTAs) are part of an effort to do so.
India is negotiating a trade agreement with the GCC which includes UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Oman will also be part of negotiations for a trade deal that India is doing with the GCC countries.
“We have discussed some issues where there are some issues that need to be resolved. We may consider a preferential trade agreement with Oman to begin with, as we look for a comprehensive agreement between the GCC region and India,” Goyal said during the India-Oman Joint Business Council meeting.
Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown from $5.4 billion in 2020-21 to $9.94 billion during 2021-2022, a growth of 82.6%. Indian firms have invested in Oman in various sectors like iron and steel, cement, fertilisers, textiles, cables, chemicals, automotive etc.
The commerce ministry said on Wednesday that Oman has also agreed to expedite approvals for Indian pharma products that are already registered by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), UK drug regulator MHRA and the European Medicines Agency.
There are over 6,000 Indian enterprises and establishments in Oman with an estimated investment of $7.5 billion. The cumulative FDI equity inflows from Oman to India during the period April 2000-December 2021 have reached $558.68 million, the ministry said.