Oman, India to invest more in agriculture, food security

Muscat: Sultanate of Oman’s focus on economic diversification as part of Oman Vision 2040 is a key area on which future strategic and bilateral partnerships will grow with other friendly countries. It was in this backdrop that the Omani-Indian Business Forum, organised on Sunday by the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources, highlighted the strong potential of growth between Oman and India in food security, agriculture and other sectors.

With emphasis on economic diversification, agriculture and fisheries are areas of priority for government investment.

The forum witnessed bilateral meetings between Omani entrepreneurs and their Indian counterparts who explored areas of cooperation in agriculture and food security sectors with the possibility of establishing strategic partnerships to increase investments in these sectors.

Eng Rida bin Juma Al Saleh, Chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “The forum and the accompanying bilateral meetings will help us strengthen trade and investment relations between the Sultanate of Oman and India as we explore areas of cooperation and partnership in sectors related to food security, agriculture and other promising sectors.”
Al Saleh added, “We also look forward to strengthening cooperation with the private sector in India, maximising the use of services provided by both countries, focusing on the agricultural sector and investment opportunities that can be benefited from, developing sustainable solutions to public challenges and incorporating new investments.”

The volume of trade exchange between the two friendly countries amounted until the end of June 2022 to more than OMR2 billion, and the value of Omani imports from India exceeded OMR793.47 million, while the value of Omani exports to India amounted to more than OMR1.34 billion.

Al Saleh said that Indian investments registered in the Sultanate of Oman amounted to OMR12 billion during the year 2020 as direct investments in various sectors.

Speaking at the forum, Amit Narang, Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman, said “the forum embodies the depth of trade and investment relations between the two friendly countries.”

He pointed out the importance of the two sides’ keenness to organise visits of trade delegations to benefit from expertise and experience and to work on establishing commercial partnerships.

On the sidelines of the forum, bilateral meetings were held between Omani business owners and their counterparts from India, with the aim of exchanging information and data, facilitating the process of communication and establishing partnerships and investment agreements that contribute to the formation of joint investment projects that serve the aspirations of the two countries.

With ONA inputs