India’s Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan is currently on a two-day official visit to the Sultanate of Oman. In an interview with Oman Observer he expressed happiness over his visit to the country, which is not only beautiful but also people here are kind. The bond between the country and its people is historical.
“This is my second visit to the Sultanate of Oman. I last visited in December 2020 in the middle of the global pandemic. It is a pleasure to see the country being fully vast yet fully organised. Credit goes to the excellent leadership and management of the Government and the resilience of the Omani people in having successfully put the pandemic behind,” he said.
The minister’s visit witnessed an agreement between Oman News Agency (ONA) and Indian news agency ANI, to which the minister said, “This agreement will definitely help in the free flow of information and news between the two countries. Both countries have historical relationship, but sometimes we feel that real happenings are not reported. The positive side of the news should be uncoloured and unbiased, so these two agencies taking up this cause will help in understanding the other country. This will help people understand each other and enhance people to people ties.”
He added that India and the Sultanate of Oman share a friendship that can only be called ‘special’. Our relationship is rooted in centuries-old historical links and based on mutual trust and respect.
On Monday morning, the minister officially unveiled the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, in the Indian Embassy premises. Sculptor Naresh Kumawat is the man behind the statue. The minister also inaugurated the painting exhibition by the Indian artist Sedunath Prabakaran on ‘India and Oman, a Political Journey’ and the newly designed Library of the Embassy. The paintings depict the important State visits between the leaders of both countries.
India considers the Sultanate of Oman as its key West-Asia partner and according to the minister, strong people-to-people connections form the cornerstone of India-Oman relations.
“Oman is India’s oldest strategic partner in the region and today our relationship straddles a multitude of areas to our peoples’ collective benefit,” he said.
Economic and commercial relations between India and Oman have been robust, and both countries accord high priority to further strengthening this relationship.
The Indian minister said that the bilateral trade between India and Oman has shown strong growth, touching almost $10 billion in 2021-2022, a jump of almost 90 per cent from 2020-2021.
“There are over 6,000 India-Oman joint ventures in Oman with an estimated investment of over $7.5 billion. Indian companies have emerged as leading investors in Oman, particularly in Free Zones in Suhar, Salalah and Duqm, generating value for local industry, creating local jobs and contributing meaningfully to the strengthening of the economy of Oman.”
“India and Oman also align closely when it comes to deployment of new & renewable energy. Oman’s push to position itself as a leading hub of green hydrogen and green ammonia intertwines with India's National Green Hydrogen Mission. Indian companies are already active in Oman in this area and the potential to scale up this cooperation is huge.”
He further explained, “As Oman seeks to realise the Oman Vision 2040, Government of Oman can count on India to be a trusted partner in all priority areas. There are significant opportunities for enhancing our cooperation in several sectors including renewable energy, defence, maritime security, minerals and mining, manufacturing, space and logistics.”
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