INDIA
- OMAN RELATIONS – INTERNATIONAL
News:
Oman eyes India's support
in building space programme
What's
in the news?
●
India is laying out the red carpet for
Oman’s top defence official Mohammed Nasser Al Zaabi, who will be in India for
a four-day official visit.
India-Oman
Relations:
●
The Sultanate of Oman is a strategic
partner of India in the Gulf.
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Both nations are linked by geography,
history and culture and enjoy warm and cordial relations.
●
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.
Economic
ties:
Expatriate
community:
●
Oman has over five hundred thousand Indian
nationals living there making them the largest expatriate community in Oman.
They annually remit $780 million to India.
Bilateral
trade:
●
In 2020, 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 Indian imports.
●
Energy: 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).
Defence
cooperation:
●
Oman is the first Gulf nation to have
formalized defence relations with India.
Naval
cooperation:
●
The Indian Navy has berthing rights in
Oman, and has been utilizing Oman’s ports as bases for conducting anti-piracy
operations in the Gulf of Aden.
Tri-services
base:
●
In February 2018, India announced that it
had secured access to the facilities at Duqm for the Indian Air Force and the
Indian Navy. Duqm had previously served as a port for the INS Mumbai.
Arms
trade:
●
The standard issue rifle of the Royal Army
of Oman is India’s INSAS rifle.
Bilateral
exercises:
●
Naseem al-Bahr (Arabic for Sea Breeze) is
a bilateral maritime exercise between India and Oman. The exercise was first
held in 1993.
Significance
of Oman for India:
●
Oman is India’s closest defence partner in
the Gulf region and an important anchor for India’s defence and strategic
interests.
●
It is the only country in the Gulf region
with which all three services of the Indian armed forces conduct regular
bilateral exercises and staff talks, enabling close cooperation and trust at
the professional level.
●
It also provides critical operational
support to Indian naval deployments in the Arabian sea for anti-piracy
missions.
Duqm
port and its strategic imperative:
●
In a strategic move to expand its
footprint in the Indian Ocean region, India has secured access to the key Port
of Duqm in Oman for military use and logistical support.
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This is part of India’s maritime strategy
to counter Chinese influence and activities in the region.
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The Port of Duqm is strategically located,
in close proximity to the Chabahar port in Iran.
●
With the Assumption Island being developed
in Seychelles and Agalega in Mauritius, Duqm fits into India’s proactive
maritime security roadmap.
●
In recent years, India had deployed an
attack submarine to this port in the western Arabian Sea.
Chinese
influence in Oman:
●
China started cultivating ties with the
Arab countries following the former Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
●
Beijing has cultivated close ties with
Oman and the latter was, in fact, the first country to deliver oil to China.
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As of today, 92.99 percent of Oman’s oil
exports go to China, making China Oman’s largest oil importer.
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Oman and China signed an agreement to
establish an Oman-China Industrial Park at Duqm in 2016.
●
China has identified Oman as a key country
in the region and has been enhancing defence ties with it steadily.
WAY
FORWARD:
●
India does not have enough energy
resources to serve its current or future energy requirements. The rapidly
growing energy demand has contributed to the need for long term energy
partnerships with countries like Oman.
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Oman’s Duqm Port is situated in
the middle of international shipping lanes connecting East with West Asia.
●
India needs to engage with Oman
and take initiatives to utilise opportunities arising out of the Duqm Port
industrial city.