Oman-India CEPA Opens up Vistas to Diversify
Production Base

Muscat, 23 Dec 2025 (ONA) — The
Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion affirmed that the Comprehensive
Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) concluded with the Republic of India does
not affect the policies of Omanization. The
Ministry explained that the agreement is subject to all applicable laws and
regulations in the Sultanate of Oman to ensure that priority in employment is
accorded to national cadres, without exception. This was unveiled during a
media briefing held by the Ministry in Muscat today.

In the briefing, the Ministry pointed
out that the CEPA will contribute to expanding the prospect of commercial exchange
and enhancing regional economic integration. It added that the agreement also constitutes
an important channel for diversifying non-oil revenues and enhancing the attractiveness
of investment.

Qais Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of
Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, reaffirmed that the Sultanate of
Oman retains its full sovereign right to apply anti-dumping and countervailing
measures. He added that the agreement allows Oman to take protective measures to
counteract proven or suspected harm/damage in practices that affect local
industries.

In his speech, Al Yousef said that
CEPA with India will give the Sultanate of Oman a comparative advantage till
such time that other GCC states enter into similar agreements. This makes the
swift implementation of the agreement a direct strategic and economic gain, he
observed.

Al Yousef pointed out that the
agreement as a whole constitutes a strategic step, supports the competitiveness
and diversification of the national economy, enhances the attractiveness of the
Sultanate of Oman as an investment destination, opens up vistas for
diversifying the base of production, empowers small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
and generates employment opportunities for citizens.

Al Yousef said that the CEPA also
constitutes an integrated framework for liberalizing trade in goods by
eliminating or cutting down customs duties, regulating non-tariff barriers,
facilitating import and export procedures and establishing precise rules to
protect national products.

The CEPA also offers Omani products
preferential access to a market of over one billion people—and this will in
turn enhance national exports, consolidate their global presence and contribute
to enhancing the status of the Sultanate of Oman as a regional logistics and
industrial hub and a strategic gateway to Asian markets.

Al Yousef added that the CEPA
represents an important step forward in boosting economic cooperation between
the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of India by opening new channels of investment
and trade. He explained that related negotiations were based on specialized
studies, including an economic study prepared by “Deloitte & Touche”, which
affirmed the economic feasibility of the CEPA and the pact’s ability to enhance
added value and support the competitiveness of Omani exports in global markets.

Al Yousef said that the negotiations
took place in five main tours from 2023 to 2025.

He added that, under the CEPA, the
Sultanate of Oman obtained an advanced rate of trade liberalization to the tune
of 97.4 percent of the total volume of Omani goods in existing exports, while
total access to Indian markets stood at about 77.8 percent, with special
liberalization for a number of goods of strategic importance to national
industries.

In return, the Sultanate of Oman
granted the Indian side gradual customs liberalization according to clear-cut
timetables, amounting to 99.22 percent in a manner that fits with national
economic policies and requirements for protecting local industries.For his part, Faisal Abdullah Al
Rawas, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (OCCI), said that, to maximize the Omani private sector’s gains from
the CEPA, the OCCI would send trade delegations to India and receive Indian
trade delegations, in addition to organizing workshops in different
governorates of the Sultanate of Oman (in cooperation with the Ministry of
Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion) to outline the terms of the agreement.

The media briefing included a
presentation about the stages of negotiation, right from the start, till such
time that the 16-chapter CEPA between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of
India was concluded. The presentation also stressed that the CEPA with India
does not include any clause that compels the Sultanate of Oman to amend its
Omanization policies. It affirmed that Oman national laws are the sole
reference point for regulating the labour market.

— Ends/Bishara