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India–Oman relations

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India-Oman relations
Map indicating locations of India and Oman

India
Oman
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of India, MuscatEmbassy of Oman, New Delhi
Envoy
Indian Ambassador to Oman Amit NarangOmani Ambassador to India Issa Saleh Abdullah Alshibani[1]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said at Bait Al Baraka, Muscat in 2018.

India–Oman relations are foreign relations between the Republic of India and the Sultanate of Oman. India has an embassy in Muscat, Oman. During British rule in India, Bombay presidency controlled Oman for the British Empire. An Indian consulate was opened in Muscat in February 1955 which was upgraded to a consulate general in 1960 and later into a full-fledged embassy in 1971. The first ambassador of India arrived in Muscat in 1973.[2] Oman established its embassy in New Delhi in 1972 and a consulate general in Mumbai in 1976. India and Oman have had trade and people-to-people ties for several millennia. Oman is home to a large Indian expatriate community and for Oman, India is an important trading partner. Politically, Oman has been supportive of India's bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.[3]

History

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Trade between India and Oman has a history of several millenniums and archaeological excavations in Oman have unearthed evidence to show Indo-Oman trade in the during the Classical Age dated to circa third century BCE.[4] Later, Oman had links with the Indian through Gujarat, and with Tamilakam along the Malabar Coast.

In August 1957, during one of the Lok Sabha debates, the then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, replying to a question asked on British Armed Forces interference in Oman said, "We have received indirectly a message purporting to come from some representatives of the Imam of Oman. The Government of India have viewed with concern the news of the military action which has taken place in Oman...have expressed to the United Kingdom Government the concern and conveyed to them public feelings in India, in regard to this action."[5]

The Sultanate of Oman had sovereignty over the Gwadar Port in present day Pakistan till 1958 when in September of that year, Pakistan paid £3 million (some say half that sum) to buy the enclave, ending over 200 years of Omani control, before which it was a part of erstwhile India.[6][7]

Expatriate community

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Oman has over five hundred thousand Indian nationals living there making them the largest expatriate community in Oman. They annually remit US$780 million to India.[8] India is a major destination for Omani students pursuing higher studies and in recent years there have been increasing numbers of medical tourists coming into the country from Oman.[9][10][11] Oman has also been trying to promote itself as a tourist destination in India.[12] The Sultanate of Oman has recorded over 200% growth in Indian tourists arrivals with 355,459 travellers visited the country in 2022, compared to 106,042 travellers in 2021, making India the second highest source market for Oman when the country witnessed a massive 348 percent jump in tourists in 2022 compared to 2021.[13][14]

Economic relations

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In 2010, bilateral trade between India and Oman stood at $4.5 billion. India was Oman's second largest destination for its non-oil exports and its fourth largest source for imports. Indian and Omani firms have undertaken joint ventures in a wide range of sectors including fertilisers, pharmaceuticals, energy and engineering.[15] The Oman-India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO) plant at Sur in Oman and the Bharat-Oman Oil Refinery at Bina have been set up as joint ventures between Indian public sector companies and Oman Oil Company.[16][17]

Gas pipeline

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India has been considering the construction of a 1,100-km-long underwater natural gas pipeline from Oman. Called the South Asia Gas Enterprise (SAGE), it will act as an alternative to the Iran–Pakistan–India pipeline. The project has been slow in materialising although it was first mooted in 1985.[18][19][20][21]

Defence co-operation

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Indian Adm. Robin Dhowan receiving Omani Rear Admiral Abdullah Bin Khasim Bin Abdullah Al Raisi at South Block, New Delhi; 7 September 2015

Oman is the first Gulf nation to have formalised defence relations with India. Both countries conducted joint military exercises in 2006 and subsequently signed a defense agreement.[22] Following Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Oman in 2008, defence co-operation between the two countries was further stepped up. The Indian Navy has berthing rights in Oman,[23] and has been utilising Oman's ports as bases for conducting anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. The Indian Air Force has also been holding biannual joint exercises with the Royal Air Force of Oman since 2009.[24][25][26] Oman has approached India in order to fence along the Oman-Yemen border in order to protect the nation from growing unrest in Yemen.[27] The standard-issue rifle of the Royal Army of Oman is India's INSAS rifle. India has a listening post at Ras al Hadd.[28][29][30][31] and berthing rights for the Indian Navy at Mascat naval base.[32][33] Indian Navy’s indigenously designed and constructed guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam arrived at Port Sultan Qaboos, Muscat on 30 July 2023 for a three-day port call, during which various naval cooperation events, such as students visiting INS Visakhapatnam, musical band performances by Indian Navy and sporting and cultural programmes marked the interaction between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Oman, which culminated with a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) on 3 August 2023.[34]

On 15th of July 2024, an oil tanker MV Prestige Falcon capsized 25 nautical miles off the coast of Oman with a crew of 13 Indians and 3 Sri Lankan nationals. Indian Navy's INS Teg which was on operational deployment nearby was ordered to assist in the search and rescue operations along with the Royal Navy of Oman and was also assisted by one of India's Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft P8I. As of 18th July, the body of one Indian national was recovered and 8 Indian crew members were rescued. This operation was undergoing with the close support of the Omani authorities as well as in coordination with the Indian Embassy in Oman.[35]

Naseem al-Bahr

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Naseem al-Bahr (Arabic word for Sea Breeze) is a bilateral maritime exercise between India and Oman. The exercise was first held in 1993.[36] The last exercise was conducted from 19 to 24 November 2022 off coast of Oman and had three phases: harbour phase, sea phase and debrief. Year 2022 marked 30 years of IN-RNO bilateral exercises.[37] The next edition of Naseem al-Bahr is scheduled in 2024.

Duqm

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In February 2018, India announced that it had secured access to the facilities at Duqm for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.[38][39] Duqm had previously served as a port for the INS Mumbai.[39]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Oman | H E Issa Saleh Abdullah Saleh Al Shibani presents credentials to President of India". 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  2. ^ "The Embassy in Muscat". Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Oman hails UNSC seat for India". The Hindu. October 20, 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Potsherd with Tamil-Brahmi script found in Oman". The Hindu. October 28, 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  5. ^ Lok Sabha Debates (Volume V, 1957) https://eparlib.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1716/1/lsd_02_02_17-08-1957.pdf page 25
  6. ^ "Purchase of Gwadar". Dawn. 18 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Gwadar port: 'history-making milestones'". Dawn. 14 April 2008.
  8. ^ "PM's speech at the Indian Community Reception in Oman". Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  9. ^ "Udupi: Omani Students Celebrate National Day at Manipal Varsity". Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  10. ^ "48 Omani students graduate in Pune". Oman Daily Observer. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  11. ^ "Omanis opting for India as medical tourism destination". Economic Times. July 18, 2012. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  12. ^ Staff Writer, Oman Daily Observer. "Over 160,000 Indian tourists visit Oman this year". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  13. ^ Staff Writer, Times of Oman. "Over 235% jump in Indian tourists arrivals to Oman". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  14. ^ "348% jump in tourists to Oman". Times of Oman. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  15. ^ "Big jump in India-Oman bilateral trade". The Hindu Businessline. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  16. ^ "India gives Oman nod to hike gas price for fertiliser plant". The Hindu. April 28, 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  17. ^ "Oman Oil refuses to raise stake in Bina refinery JV". Business Standard. January 29, 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  18. ^ "IOC seeks nod to join deep sea gas pipeline project of SAGE". The Hindu. June 19, 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  19. ^ "India considering deepwater gas pipeline from Oman: Report". Economic Times. September 20, 2010. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  20. ^ "The Oman-India Gas Pipeline Project: Need to Resurrect Again". Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  21. ^ Bagchi, Indrani (1 March 2014). "India, Iran and Oman go under sea to build pipelines, change geopolitics". The Times of India.
  22. ^ Bruno de Paiva (23 May 2011). "Uganda and Burundi to Fight Islamists with US Drones". Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 2013-09-14. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  23. ^ India set to drop anchor off China Archived 27 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Deccan Chronicle (26 June 2011). Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  24. ^ "Second India-Oman joint air exercises end". The Hindu. October 22, 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  25. ^ "India, Oman conduct first joint air exercise". The Hindu. October 31, 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  26. ^ "India, Oman still studying undersea pipeline". The Hindu. October 30, 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  27. ^ Bambridge, John (7 February 2013). "India to bag Oman-Yemen border fencing contract". Construction Week.
  28. ^ " India activates first listening post on foreign soil: radars in Madagascar", Indian Express, 18 July 2007.
  29. ^ "Indian Listening Station In Oman Monitoring Pakistan’s Naval Communications.", CloseWar.Com.
  30. ^ "Naval Ties, Economic Interests Drive India’s Outreach to Oman", World Politics Review, 7 January 2015.
  31. ^ Sandeep Unnithan (27 March 2015). "India's string of flowers:India obtains two strategically significant toeholds in the Indian Ocean.", India Today
  32. ^ Overseas Military Bases of Indian Archived 2017-07-31 at the Wayback Machine, Defence News.
  33. ^ "Naval muscle should fetch economic returns." Archived 2019-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, The Tribune, 20 March 2015.
  34. ^ "India, Oman naval diplomacy sets sail amid sporting and cultural programmes". Times of Oman. ANI. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  35. ^ "Eight Indians rescued off Oman coast return home; one body recovered". The Times of India. 2024-07-18. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  36. ^ "Maritime cooperation: India and Oman conduct bilateral naval exercise 'Naseem Al Bahr'". The Economic Times. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  37. ^ "Naseem Al Bahr 2022". Drishti IAS. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
  38. ^ Dominguez, Gabriel; Bedi, Rahul (February 14, 2018). "Indian Navy to get increased access to Omani port of Duqm, says report". Jane's Information Group. The MOU allows IN vessels to use the facilities at Duqm Port during visits "in terms of services and the use of the dry dock for maintenance", according to the report, which was published during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the sultanate.
  39. ^ a b Roy, Shubhajit (February 13, 2018). "India gets access to strategic Oman port Duqm for military use, Chabahar-Gwadar in sight". Indian Express.
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