Muscat – The Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) wrapped up a successful trade and investment mission to India on Friday.

Led by H E Qais al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry & Investment Promotion and accompanied by over 40 high-profile Omani organisations the delegation visited New Delhi and Mumbai to develop new business opportunities and strengthen investment and trade ties in manufacturing, healthcare, renewables and tourism sectors.

After an intensive series of trade and investment focused meetings with Indian ministers and leading industrialists earlier in the week, on Thursday H E Yousef held talks with senior officials at Invest in India and Niti Aayog, the Indian government’s public policy think tank. He then went on to deliver opening remarks at the 10th Oman-India Joint Business Council meeting at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Commenting on the important commercial relationship between Oman and India, H E Yousef remarked, “As Oman’s economy moves forward under the wise guidance of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and given the new opportunities already opened up by Oman Vision 2040 we are seeing a growing number of Indian SMEs and investors looking to leverage Oman’s strategic location and world-class transport infrastructure to enter the GCC and African markets. This is borne out by the recent trade and investment figures, but we cannot take this ongoing interest for granted. We are fully committed to encouraging new and impactful collaborations in health, renewables, tourism and manufacturing, sectors where our nations have complementary capabilities.”

Highlighting the growth potential for Oman-made goods in India, the minister noted, “The 172 per cent increase in our 2021 non-oil exports to India demonstrates the appetite for Omani products with Indian consumers. From discussions held during this trip it is clear this is very much the tip of the iceberg in terms of demand, particularly given the growth of India’s middle class. The prize is substantial. On our return, my team and I will be engaging with Omani exporters to encourage them to seize the opportunities and capitalise on the wealth of possibilities presented by the Indian market given that by 2050 it will be the world’s third-largest importer, following China and the Unites States.”

Today, Indian businesses are operating in multiple industries across every region of Oman with an estimated investment of US$7.5bn. Trade and investment flows between India and Oman have remained on a positive trajectory despite the pandemic. This can be seen in the 94.8 per cent increase in the number of Indian businesses registering with MoCIIP’s Invest Easy portal, up from 450 in 2019 to 877 in 2021.

While bilateral trade also witnessed robust growth increasing from US$5.4bn in 2020-21 to US$9.9bn in 2021-2022, an impressive annual growth of 82.6 per cent.