New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sultan and Prime Minister of Oman, Haitham bin Tarik, discussed a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel, as well as a way to expand bilateral maritime security cooperation between India and Oman during high-level talks in Delhi Saturday.
The Sultan of Oman is on an official visit to India — a first by an Omani ruler in 26 years. The late Sultan Qaboos, who maintained ties with several Indian prime ministers, had previously visited India in 1997.
Sultan Haitham bin Tarik was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including seven cabinet ministers and three vice ministers.
The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict was an “important element” during talks held by PM Modi and Sultan Haitham bin Tarik at Delhi’s Hyderabad House, said Indian foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra in a press briefing shortly after the discussion.
The two leaders discussed the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, the challenge of terrorism and the larger need to try and achieve a two-state solution as a way forward,” Kwatra told reporters.
The two leaders also signed a joint vision document — ‘India-Oman joint vision, a partnership for future’ — covering roughly 10 areas of bilateral cooperation. These include maritime security cooperation, energy security in the realm of green hydrogen, space cooperation, digital payments, health, tourism, disaster and relief management, food security, agriculture and cricket.
The two leaders adopted a new ‘India-Oman joint vision, a partnership for future’ under which both countries will work in ten different areas, Kwatra added.
India and Oman have shared diplomatic relations since 1955 and the relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2008. Oman is a key defence partner for India in the Gulf region. It is the only country in the region with which all three services of the Indian Armed Forces conduct regular military exercises and service-level staff talks.
The two countries are also in the midst of finalising a comprehensive free-trade pact to expand bilateral trade which hit $12.3 billion in 2022-2023. Petroleum products comprise almost three-fourths of India’s merchandise imports from Oman.
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Duqm Port an important ‘logistical base’
India and Oman are partners for maritime security in the Indian Ocean. The strategically located Duqm Port in Oman has offered facilities to the Indian Navy in recent years. India gained access to the port after PM Modi’s visit to the Gulf country in 2018.
Both the countries are close partners in the field of maritime cooperation including humanitarian disaster relief, Kwatra told reporters.
“Duqm Port provides us a logistical base for cooperation both in the field of maritime cooperation including humanitarian disaster relief,” he explained.
The port overlooks the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea. There is also a Special Economic Zone at Duqm, which offers investment opportunities and is located close to global shipping lines.
In June, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited Oman and explored the strategic Port of Duqm.
During delegation-level talks between India and Oman Saturday, the two countries also announced a third tranche of funds under the Oman-India Joint Investment Fund, a joint venture between the State Bank of India and the Oman Investment Authority.
“This fund would be worth 300 million dollars, approximately Rs 2,500 crores…which essentially channelled investments into the fastest-growing sectors of the Indian economy,” said Kwatra.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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