Bilateral trade between Oman and India grew by almost 69 per cent from $4 billion in the 2016-2017 financial year to $6.7 billion in the 2017-2018 financial year, an all-time high, Indian government data has revealed, which Indian embassy officials have attributed to an appreciation in oil prices, adding that it was a positive for the Omani economy.

The Times of Oman reported that India’s Ambassador to Oman, Indra Mani Pandey, said that he was pleased that bilateral trade between India and Oman had increased, “mainly due to a substantial increase in the import of oil and petroleum products by India. We hope to maintain this momentum during the current year too.”

Exports from India include mineral fuels and oils, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, articles of iron or steel, electrical machinery, equipment, textiles, garments, chemicals, tea, coffee, spices, cereals, meat and seafood to Oman, while major Indian imports from Oman are oil, petroleum products, fertilisers, bituminous substances, mineral waxes, aluminium, organic chemicals, salt, sulphur, earth and stone, plastering materials, lime and cement.

The second secretary at the Indian embassy in Muscat Yumkhaibam Sabir said the substantial rise in bilateral trade between India and Oman was welcome. “The total trade between the countries for the financial year comes to around $6.7 billion. This is an all-time high. We believe that it is a positive development. However, we have to point out that the amount of oil that we imported from Oman has not increased substantially; rather, the price of crude has shot up. It has worked out rather well for the Sultanate and we are glad that it has,” he said.

He added that India also has strategic goals as far as bilateral trade with the Sultanate was concerned, with a desire to increase the number of items that are exported to Oman.

Sabir added that the embassy had played a key role in facilitating trade and investment between the two countries, the Times of Oman said. “The Indian embassy here in Muscat regularly arranges business-to-business (B2B) meetings. This is to allow businesspersons to sit down and chat with each other. They know exactly what they want. They’ll reach mutual agreements on their own.”

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