Oman-India
Business Forum Explores Opportunities to Benefit from CEPA

Muscat,
9 Sep 2026 (ONA) — The Oman-India Business Forum, organized today in Muscat by Oman
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), discussed opportunities to benefit
from the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the
Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of India, in a manner that contributes to
supporting economic diversification plans, enhancing trade exchange, elevating
the competitiveness of Omani companies, and opening new horizons for the Omani
private sector.

Faisal
Abdullah Al Rowas, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Oman Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, stated that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement represents a fundamental base for elevating Omani-Indian relations to
broader levels of cooperation and partnership, and enhancing trade and
investment movement between the two countries.

He
explained that the agreement provides the private sector in both countries with
major opportunities to increase exports, access new markets, and build
investment partnerships in a number of promising sectors, benefiting from the
preferential advantages offered by the agreement, as well as from the Sultanate
of Oman’s strategic location, logistical infrastructure, and special economic
and free zones.

He
pointed out that this forum aimed to reflect the advantages of the agreement
into practical opportunities through discussions and dialogues between business
owners and investors from both countries regarding the mechanisms of activating
the agreement and exploring partnership opportunities in promising economic
sectors.

Al
Rowas called on Omani business owners to learn about the agreement’s benefits,
study markets and products with export opportunities, communicate directly with
their counterparts in the Republic of India, explore partnership and investment
opportunities, and build joint projects, emphasizing that the coming phase
requires converting the advantages provided by the agreement into tangible deals,
partnerships, and investments.

For
his part, Eng. Said Ali Al Abri, Member of the Board of Directors of OCCI and
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber’s Branch in North Al Batinah
Governorate, said that the institutional framework through which Omani-Indian
economic relations are organized today is represented by the Comprehensive
Economic Partnership Agreement between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic
of India, which was signed in Muscat in December 2025 and entered into force on
1 June 2026. He stressed that the agreement represents an important milestone
for the Sultanate of Oman as its first bilateral trade agreement.

He
added that the agreement provides significant trade advantages, including
opening about 98 percent of Omani tariff lines to Indian goods, in exchange for
India’s commitment to reducing or eliminating customs duties on about 77
percent of its tariff lines, in addition to covering investment fields,
facilitating customs procedures, digital trade, intellectual property, and the
movement of professionals, thereby enhancing an environment conducive to the
growth of trade and investment between the two countries.

He
affirmed that this forum serves as an important platform for translating the
agreement into practical opportunities, bringing together business owners,
investors, and concerned institutions from both countries to discuss
implementation mechanisms, actual benefit from the agreement, services and
joint project opportunities, and the Sultanate of Oman’s role as an investment
gateway to regional and international markets.

From
his side, Prashant Pise, Ambassador-designate of the Republic of India to the
Sultanate of Oman, stated that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
between the two countries represents a new phase in Omani-Indian economic and
trade relations, providing a broad framework for enhancing trade and investment
and opening new horizons for the private sector in both countries.

He
pointed out that the agreement is not limited to increasing trade exchange
volume, but also creates broader opportunities to build long-term investment
and productive partnerships across multiple sectors, emphasizing the importance
of this forum in enhancing communication between business owners and investors
from the two countries, introducing them to the opportunities provided by the
agreement, and transforming them into tangible projects and partnerships.

The
Ambassador-designate invited Omani and Indian companies to take advantage of
the preferential benefits provided by the agreement and explore opportunities
for cooperation in vital economic sectors, thereby enhancing integration
between the economies of the two countries and supporting the growth of mutual
trade and investments.

Dr.
Yousuf Hamad Al Balushi, Founder of Smart Investment Gateway, delivered the
keynote address at the forum on the Omani side, titled “The Sultanate of
Oman as an Investment Destination for Indian Companies”, during which he
reviewed practical opportunities to maximize the Sultanate of Oman’s benefit
from the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with India, emphasizing
the importance of transforming it from a trade agreement into an integrated
platform for investment, production, and export, contributing to attracting
qualitative Indian investments, raising value addition, and strengthening Omani
companies’ connection to global value chains.

Meanwhile,
Dr. James J. Nedumpara, Head of the Centre for Trade and Investment Law,
delivered the keynote address at the forum from the Indian side, titled
“Unlocking the Potential of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of India”,
reviewing the Indian perspective on the agreement, explaining that it aims to
establish a free trade area, with a tangible expansion in the scope of
duty-free goods compared to treatment based on Most-Favored-Nation (MFN)
status.

The
forum featured two panel discussions: the first discussed the phases from
agreement to implementation and achieving the opportunities of the
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, while the second panel discussion
focused on key services, investment, and joint projects based on long-term
partnerships.

An
accompanying exhibition was held on the sidelines of the forum, displaying a
number of products and services reflecting the diversity of economic
cooperation fields between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of India.

The
forum included a number of bilateral meetings between business owners and
representatives of companies and institutions from the two countries, aiming to
discuss cooperation and partnership opportunities, explore fields for joint
investment, as well as discuss the possibility of establishing new projects and
expanding existing business operations.

These
meetings focused on the investment opportunities and advantages available in
the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of India, and discussed ways to benefit
from the advantages provided by the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
between the two countries, contributing to enhancing trade and investment
movement and opening new channels for the private sector, particularly in
priority economic sectors.

At
the conclusion of its proceedings, the forum called on Omani companies to take
advantage of the opportunities offered by the agreement to strengthen their
presence in Indian markets, expand their exports, and build new commercial and
investment partnerships.

—Ends/AG