27 January 2011
MUSCAT -- The bilateral relations between the Sultanate of Oman and India have been undergoing remarkable changes and it is all set to scale greater heights in the coming years.
Various diplomatic visits between these two brotherly countries have helped fostering the relations between the two, according to Anil Wadhwa, the Indian Ambassador to the Sultanate.
He was delivering his speech on the occasion of the 62nd Republic Day of India, at the Indian Embassy premises yesterday in front of a selected gathering comprising of more than 1,000 members of Indian community from all walks of life and dignitaries and special guests from Oman government. Dr Mubarak bin Saleh al Khuduri, Special Advisor to His Majesty, was the chief guest.
In his address, the ambassador also hailed the developments in bilateral relations, including the excellent progress in economic relations and trade, between Oman and India over the past year.
Bilateral trade between the two countries touched $ 4.5 billion in the financial year 2009-10, a substantial increase compared to the previous year.
He noted that the visits of Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Shashi Tharoor, Member of Indian Parliament, and Omani ministers Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, Minister of National Economy and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs have contributed to the overall growth of the strong relations between the two.
The Indo-Oman Joint Investment Fund (IOJIF), with a seed capital of $100 million announced during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Oman in November 2008, and signed by both nations was a major leap in the economic arena.
The dignitaries and diplomatic representatives from various ministries of Oman included Mohammed bin Nasser al Khusaibi, Secretary-General, Ministry of National Economy, Sayyid Mohammed Salem al Said, Chief of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Awadh Badr al Shanfari, Member, Majlis Addawla, Mohammed Ali al Rehma, Member, Majlis Addawla, Khadeeja bint Hassan al Lawatia, Chief, Cultural Co-operation, MFA, Mohammed Ali al Khusaibi, Chief, North America Department, MFA, Shaikh Ahmed Salem al Shanfari, Deputy Chief, Economic Studies, MFA, Riyadh Yousuf al Raisi, Chief, East Asia Department, MFA, Dr Ali Salem al Shanfari, Deputy Chief, West Asia Department, Brigadier Ali Abdullah al Kalbani, Head, Moral Guidance, COSAF, Brigadier Jamal Naseeb al Shanfari, ROP, and Afif Ayyub, Dean, Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of Lebanon.
In his address, Ambassador stated that the spirit behind the celebration of Republic day is not only to celebrate India's freedom, secularism and democracy but it also makes us feel proud of our culture, languages, social norms, traditions, customs, religions, social harmony and the individual distinctiveness that makes up India as a whole an unique multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious country.
"Indian presence has become an observable fact in international arena. At the political level, India has recently stepped into the UN Security Council for the next two years, and promises the world a performance that will showcase its ability to shoulder responsibilities of a permanent member. On the commercial front, India now has the eighth largest quota in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)", Ambassador added.
MUSCAT -- The bilateral relations between the Sultanate of Oman and India have been undergoing remarkable changes and it is all set to scale greater heights in the coming years.
Various diplomatic visits between these two brotherly countries have helped fostering the relations between the two, according to Anil Wadhwa, the Indian Ambassador to the Sultanate.
He was delivering his speech on the occasion of the 62nd Republic Day of India, at the Indian Embassy premises yesterday in front of a selected gathering comprising of more than 1,000 members of Indian community from all walks of life and dignitaries and special guests from Oman government. Dr Mubarak bin Saleh al Khuduri, Special Advisor to His Majesty, was the chief guest.
In his address, the ambassador also hailed the developments in bilateral relations, including the excellent progress in economic relations and trade, between Oman and India over the past year.
Bilateral trade between the two countries touched $ 4.5 billion in the financial year 2009-10, a substantial increase compared to the previous year.
He noted that the visits of Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Shashi Tharoor, Member of Indian Parliament, and Omani ministers Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, Minister of National Economy and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs have contributed to the overall growth of the strong relations between the two.
The Indo-Oman Joint Investment Fund (IOJIF), with a seed capital of $100 million announced during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Oman in November 2008, and signed by both nations was a major leap in the economic arena.
The dignitaries and diplomatic representatives from various ministries of Oman included Mohammed bin Nasser al Khusaibi, Secretary-General, Ministry of National Economy, Sayyid Mohammed Salem al Said, Chief of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Awadh Badr al Shanfari, Member, Majlis Addawla, Mohammed Ali al Rehma, Member, Majlis Addawla, Khadeeja bint Hassan al Lawatia, Chief, Cultural Co-operation, MFA, Mohammed Ali al Khusaibi, Chief, North America Department, MFA, Shaikh Ahmed Salem al Shanfari, Deputy Chief, Economic Studies, MFA, Riyadh Yousuf al Raisi, Chief, East Asia Department, MFA, Dr Ali Salem al Shanfari, Deputy Chief, West Asia Department, Brigadier Ali Abdullah al Kalbani, Head, Moral Guidance, COSAF, Brigadier Jamal Naseeb al Shanfari, ROP, and Afif Ayyub, Dean, Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of Lebanon.
In his address, Ambassador stated that the spirit behind the celebration of Republic day is not only to celebrate India's freedom, secularism and democracy but it also makes us feel proud of our culture, languages, social norms, traditions, customs, religions, social harmony and the individual distinctiveness that makes up India as a whole an unique multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious country.
"Indian presence has become an observable fact in international arena. At the political level, India has recently stepped into the UN Security Council for the next two years, and promises the world a performance that will showcase its ability to shoulder responsibilities of a permanent member. On the commercial front, India now has the eighth largest quota in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)", Ambassador added.
© Oman Daily Observer 2011
