India and Oman Foreign Ministers will undertake a comprehensive review of the progress made in the bilateral strategic partnership between the two countries, and exchange views on recent regional and international developments.
New Delhi: At the invitation of External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Foreign Minister of Oman Sayyid Badr Hamad Hamood Al Busaidi will pay an official visit to India on March 23 and 24. This will be the first visit of Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi to India in his capacity as Foreign Minister.
Both Ministers will meet on Wednesday, 23 March, evening and undertake a comprehensive review of the progress made in the bilateral strategic partnership between the two countries, the MEA said. The Ministers will also exchange views on recent regional and international developments.
India and Oman have continued close cooperation during the Covid pandemic and maintained high-level contacts. India is among Oman’s top trading partners, and bilateral trade for the current financial year (FY 2021-2022) so far is almost USD 7.5 billion. People-to-people ties is another important facet of the bilateral relationship as Oman is home to approximately 620,000 Indian nationals. Both sides have good maritime and defence ties too.
Oman’s naval chief, Rear Admiral Saif bin Nasser Al Rahbi, visited India in February. Oman is located strategically straddling the Strait of Hormuz in the north and Bab al-Mandab Strait in the south.
A bilateral air force exercise, “Eastern Bridge VI”, was held at Jodhpur in February and the top representatives of Oman’s defence ministry, including Mohammed Al-Zaabi, also made his maiden visit to India.
