New Delhi: India and Oman are set to deepen their economic partnership with a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), scheduled to be signed on December 18, that is expected to open up fresh opportunities across manufacturing, services and new-age sectors, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.
Addressing the India-Oman Business Forum in Muscat, Goyal described the agreement as a turning point in bilateral relations, coming at a time when both countries are looking to diversify trade and investment ties beyond traditional areas.
The proposed pact is expected to benefit sectors such as textiles, food processing, automobiles, gems and jewellery, agrochemicals, renewable energy and auto components, while also providing a boost to services including professional services, tourism, healthcare, education and research and development.
Goyal underlined Oman’s geographic advantage, noting that the country offers Indian businesses a strategic entry point into markets across the Gulf Cooperation Council, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa.
Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Qais Al Yousef, said India has emerged as Oman’s third-largest trading partner and a major source of foreign investment. According to him, Indian investments in Oman have more than tripled since 2020 to around $5 billion, spread across areas such as green steel, green ammonia, aluminium manufacturing and logistics. These investments, he said, reflect India’s growing confidence in Oman as a long-term base for regional operations.
Recent trade data underline the growing economic engagement between the two countries. Bilateral trade crossed the $10 billion mark in 2024-25, registering double-digit growth over the previous year. While India’s exports to Oman include petroleum products, engineering goods, chemicals and textiles, imports are dominated by mineral fuels and related products. Policymakers on both sides believe the FTA could help narrow the trade imbalance by encouraging a more diversified export basket.
Historical Links
Goyal said the forthcoming agreement would be Oman’s first comprehensive trade pact in nearly two decades and recalled the long history of maritime and commercial links between the two nations, dating back centuries. He also pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Oman coincides with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, lending added significance to the negotiations. India’s decision to invite Oman as a special guest during its G20 presidency in 2023, he noted, was another signal of the strategic trust between the two countries.
Green Energy
Beyond goods trade, both sides identified energy transition as a key area of future cooperation, particularly in green hydrogen and renewable energy. Infrastructure development, including ports and multimodal logistics, food security through cold chains and food parks, and collaboration between startup ecosystems in areas such as deep tech, logistics and artificial intelligence were also highlighted as priority areas.
Goyal said the partnership is anchored in a shared focus on youth-led growth, drawing parallels between India’s long-term development roadmap, Viksit Bharat 2047, and Oman Vision 2040.
With complementary strengths and a growing appetite for collaboration, he expressed confidence that the India-Oman economic relationship is poised to enter a new phase, with businesses on both sides playing a central role in translating policy intent into tangible outcomes.