Muscat – H E Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi, Foreign Minster, is on a two-day visit to India on the invitation of Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar.

‘Sayyid Badr left (on Wednesday) for India and was bid farewell by several officials of the Foreign Ministry,’ a ministry statement said.

According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, H E Sayyid Badr and Dr Jaishankar’s talks will include a comprehensive review of the progress made in the bilateral strategic partnership between the two countries.

India and Oman have continued close cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic and maintained high-level contacts.

‘India is among Oman’s top trading partners and bilateral trade for the current financial year (2021-2022) so far is almost US$7.5bn. People-to-people ties is another important facet of the bilateral relationship as Oman is home to approximately 620,000 Indian nationals,’ India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to their close strategic partnership, and the ministers highlighted the high priority accorded by the leadership of both the countries to bilateral relations based on mutual trust and respect. The ministers also underscored that as neighbours united by the waters of Arabian Sea, both countries have an important role in the maritime safety and security in the region.

H E Sayyid Badr and Dr Jaishankar assessed the multi-faceted India-Oman relations that span several areas of cooperation including political, strategic, defence, economic, energy, investment, space, mining, science and technology, cultural, consular and humanitarian cooperation. They noted that while the traditional areas of cooperation are being further strengthened, new drivers of growth are expanding bilateral cooperation with new vigour and energy. Both ministers welcomed the decision to expeditiously implementing proposals for joint cooperation in space, mining, maritime and science and technology sectors.

The ministers noted with satisfaction the continued momentum in defence cooperation as it remains one of the key pillars of bilateral cooperation. They welcomed the timely renewal of longstanding MoUs on military cooperation and maritime issues.

H E Sayyid Badr and Dr Jaishankar welcomed the signing of a MoU between India Post and Oman Post for issuance of an India-Oman joint commemorative stamp. The stamp will highlight the millennia-old shared cultural heritage between the countries and will be released in the last quarter of 2022. They also welcomed the signing of the Programme of Scientific and Technological Cooperation within a joint committees programme.