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India and Oman stock 1 of the oldest trading relationships, with commercialized and maritime links dating backmost thousands of years. From the question of spices, textiles and frankincense to enduring people-to-people ties, commercialized has agelong been a cornerstone of this partnership. The India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which came into unit connected June 1, 2026, reaffirms and strengthens this historical narration by providing a modern model to deepen trade, concern and economical practice for the future.
India is amongst the apical suppliers for Oman and bilateral commercialized has grown from $8.94 cardinal successful FY2023-24 to $11.18 cardinal successful FY2025-26, reflecting the increasing complementarities betwixt the 2 economies.
An enlargement of India’s commercialized ties
The CEPA comes astatine a clip erstwhile India is actively diversifying its commercialized partnerships and integrating much profoundly with planetary worth chains. Following agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Australia, the European Free Trade Association, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the European Union, the Oman CEPA further strengthens India’s beingness successful a portion that is cardinal to its vigor security, commercialized and strategical interests.
The CEPA offers important opportunities for Indian exporters. Oman has offered duty-free entree connected 98.08% of its tariff lines, covering 99.38% of India’s exports by value. Before the agreement, lone 15.33% of India’s exports entered Oman astatine zero work nether the Most Favoured Nation regime. The CEPA, therefore, provides an contiguous competitiveness boost crossed a wide scope of sectors. In textiles and apparel, India already commands a 43% stock of Oman’s woven apparel imports and 31% of knitted apparel imports. The removal of the existing 5% tariff volition fortify the competitiveness of Indian manufacturers against China, which is the different ascendant supplier successful this market. In the lawsuit of chemicals, India already supplies astir 39% of Oman’s inorganic chemic imports, making it 1 of the starring players successful the market. Tariff escaped entree volition lone amplify this further.
Likewise, engineering goods volition besides benefit. Oman imports implicit $3.7 cardinal worthy of mechanical machinery and $3.3 cardinal worthy of automotives annually, wherever India’s marketplace stock is lone 5% and 2%, respectively. Preferential marketplace entree nether the CEPA tin assistance Indian exports of engineering goods grow importantly and deepen their beingness successful Oman’s infrastructure, operation and concern sectors.
In pharmaceuticals, wherever India holds astir 10% marketplace share, the agreement’s worth lies not successful tariff reductions but successful regulatory facilitation. Products approved by starring planetary regulators volition payment from fast-tracked approvals, reducing compliance costs and accelerating marketplace entry. As Oman’s pharmaceutical marketplace continues to expand, Indian companies volition beryllium well-positioned to seizure a larger share. Duty-free entree for products specified arsenic meat, eggs, honey, food and processed foods volition further fortify India’s already beardown position. At the aforesaid time, delicate sectors specified arsenic dairy, cereals, edible oils and respective cultivation commodities person been kept extracurricular tariff concessions, ensuring that home producers stay protected.
Streamlining procedures
Significant commercialized facilitation measures person been introduced. Oman volition judge certificates issued by India’s Export Inspection Council (EIC), eliminating duplicative investigating and inspections, portion besides recognising India’s integrated (NPOP) and halal certification systems. There are dedicated sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and method barriers to commercialized (TBT) provisions, which volition heighten regulatory transparency and cooperation, and streamlined customs clearance, including fast-track processing for perishables, which volition trim costs and amended export efficiency.
Another forward-looking facet of the CEPA is its beardown absorption connected services and nonrecreational mobility. Bilateral services commercialized stood astatine $863 cardinal successful 2024, with India enjoying a surplus of astir $447 million. Yet, India’s stock successful Oman’s planetary services imports remains conscionable implicit 5%, indicating important untapped potential.
Oman has undertaken binding commitments covering professionals successful sectors specified arsenic accounting, engineering, accusation technology, wellness care, acquisition and consulting. Oman besides raises the quotas for intra-corporate transferees, facilitating greater mobility of Indian professionals and specialists. Provisions relating to AYUSH and accepted medicine further make opportunities for Indian wellness attraction and wellness services successful the Gulf.
Strategic determination advantage
Beyond commercialized statistics, the CEPA has a larger strategical significance. Oman occupies a unsocial presumption astatine the crossroads of the Gulf, the Indian Ocean and East Africa. Its ports astatine Sohar, Duqm and Salalah are emerging arsenic large logistics and concern hubs. For Indian businesses, Oman tin service not lone arsenic a destination marketplace but besides arsenic a gateway to the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) portion and East African economies.
The India-Oman CEPA erstwhile again demonstrates the improvement of India’s commercialized argumentation from tariff negotiations to broad economical partnerships encompassing goods, services, investment, mobility and regulatory cooperation. Its benefits volition widen from textile clusters successful Tamil Nadu and the gems and jewellery manufacture successful Gujarat to engineering hubs successful Maharashtra and Punjab, and from pharmaceutical manufacturers successful Telangana to seafood exporters successful Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
The existent trial volition present prevarication successful implementation and utilisation. If businesses actively leverage the opportunities created by the agreement, the CEPA tin importantly grow India’s export footprint, fortify economical integration with the Gulf, and enactment the country’s broader ambition of becoming a globally competitory manufacturing and services powerhouse. For India, the statement opens not lone the Omani marketplace but besides a broader gateway to the Gulf and beyond.
Anant Goenka is President, The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
