India's Middle East Expansion: India Set To Sign Trade Deal With Oman

A trade deal between India and Oman is set to be signed in the coming months as New Delhi seeks to expand its ties in the Middle East, where major shipping routes are at risk due to rising geopolitical tensions.

This deal will help India with a strategic partner and provide access to key trade routes in a volatile region, as reported by Reuters.

India Set To Sign Trade Deal With Oman

Although India and Oman have annual trade of less than $13 billion, the relationship is deemed important for New Delhi as Oman is a gateway to the Strait of Hormuz, a major transit point for global oil shipments. The approval of the trade deal is required by the next government after the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to win another term.

No responses were received from India's trade and foreign ministries or Oman's embassy in India and foreign ministry when emails seeking comment were sent. However, India has shifted its focus towards seeking bilateral relations with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members like Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after little progress on a deal with the bloc, as reported by Reuters.

According to the official, the planned deal with Oman "also gives a competitive edge as GCC is negotiating trade agreements with Pakistan and China." Oman has agreed to eliminate duties on Indian exports worth an annual $3 billion, including agricultural products, gems and jewellery, leather, automobiles, medical devices, engineering products, and textiles.

In a reciprocal move, India has agreed to reduce duties on some petrochemicals, aluminium, and copper from Oman, while capping imports of such goods.

This follows Oman Sultan Haitham bin Tarik's visit to India in December last year, where delegation-level talks were held with PM Modi at Hyderabad House in the national capital. During this meeting, they adopted a new 'India-Oman joint vision, a partnership for the future' focusing on ten essential areas, as reported by Reuters.

Importantly, a long-standing friendship rooted in historical, cultural, and economic ties is shared between India and Oman. People-to-people contact between India and Oman can be traced back 5,000 years. The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1955 and were upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2008.

Middle East Geopolitical Tensions: Recent Incidents

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have led to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza spreading to hostilities with Iran and repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea area by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants, who claim solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

Global shipping has been impeded, forcing vessels to avoid the Red Sea route and utilize a longer route through Africa to reach their destinations. The Andromeda Star oil tanker in the Red Sea was reportedly targeted by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Friday. Engaged in trade linked to Russia, the Andromeda Star was en route from Primorsk, Russia, to Vadinar, India, when it came under attack, as per media reports.

This incident adds to a string of strikes by Iran-aligned Houthi militants in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and Gulf of Aden since November.

In a statement on X formerly Twitter, it was announced by the US Central Command that "At 5:49 p.m. (Sanna time) on April 26, three anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) were launched by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea in the vicinity of MV MAISHA, an Antigua/Barbuda-flagged, Liberia-operated vessel, and MV Andromeda Star, a UK-owned and Panamanian-flagged, Seychelles-operated vessel. MV Andromeda Star has reported minor damage but is continuing its voyage."