New Delhi, Dec 10 (IANS) Oman’s Ambassador to India, Issa Saleh Abdullah Saleh Alshibani, said on Wednesday that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which is likely to be signed soon, will provide an easy gateway for promoting trade and investment between the two countries.
“A comprehensive economic agreement usually is a platform that makes an easy gateway for investments and would also serve to simplify a lot of the engagements in terms of investments. I think it’s also one way of supporting the bilateral trade between the two countries. According to statistics, we have seen an increase in the bilateral trade,” the Ambassador said in an exclusive interview with IANS.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to visit Oman next week to mark the celebration of 70 years of diplomatic relations, he expects bilateral collaboration between the two countries to grow stronger across various sectors.
On the Suhar Investment Forum 2026 event to be held in February, the envoy said: “It’s more of a progressive kind of event. When I met with the Suhar team, they mentioned that this year they will be focusing on sector-wise industries. It will also include visits to the different sites of the Suhar Port and Suhar Industrial Zone.”
He said that this would be an opportunity for most of the Indian businesses to have an actual look on the ground as to what the development industries that are already existing and what are the opportunities that would lie in terms of the future that matches with Oman’s vision of 2040.
On the more than 20 Jaguar fighter jets that Oman is transferring to India, the Ambassador said: “I think this reflects how deep the defence relationship between India and Oman is. We are the first and maybe the only country that has conducted joint training between all the different forces. I think this is where it shows how deep this relationship is. The Jaguars have been in Oman for decades. It’s one of the trustworthy air fighters. I think this shows how strong the relationship is in terms of defence and closeness between the two countries.”
The Oman Air Force will be transferring its over 20 Jaguar fighter-bombers to the IAF to be broken up and used as spares. The IAF has six squadrons of the Jaguar, with each of them having 18-20 warplanes, and it is one of the few countries in the world that still uses this Anglo-French-made jet.
–IANS
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