New Delhi geared up for Oman Sultan Haitham bin Tariq’s maiden visit to India: Indian Embassy in Oman
New Delhi [India], December 15 (ANI): The Indian Embassy in Oman has said New Delhi eagerly awaits the arrival of Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq on his maiden visit to India.
“New Delhi is awaiting the arrival of HM Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on his maiden State visit to India,” the Indian Embassy in Oman wrote on ‘X’.
The Sultan of Oman is set to begin his three-day state visit to India from today.
He is visiting the country with a high-level delegation of senior ministers and officials, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official release.
India and Oman share a long-standing friendship rooted in historical, cultural, and economic ties. Moreover, people-to-people contact between India and Oman can be traced back 5,000 years.
The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1955, and the relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2008.
According to MEA, this will be the first state visit of Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to India and marks a significant milestone in the diplomatic relations between India and Oman.
Upon arrival here in the national capital, Oman’s Sultan will also be called on by the External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, the MEA said in a release.
The Sultan of Oman is visiting India at the invitation of President Droupadi Murmu and will be received by PM Modi and President Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for a ceremonial welcome on December 16.
He will also visit the National Gallery of Modern Art here and hold a meeting with PM Modi at Hyderabad House on day two of his visit.
During his visit, PM Modi will also host a luncheon in his honour.
The visit will be an opportunity to explore avenues for future collaboration between India and Oman for regional stability, progress and prosperity, the MEA release said.
Meanwhile, as per the Oman News Agency, the talks to be held by Sultan Haitham bin Tarik with the Indian leadership in New Delhi will scale up the existing strategic partnership between the two countries towards high ranks through promoting trade, investment and cooperation to achieve integration between the two sides in diverse fields.
As per the agency, the size of the commercial exchange between Oman and India stood at RO 1.447 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, the volume of Omani exports to India stood at RO 699.218 million represented in oil, minerals, LNG, polyethylene, propylate, aluminum and urea.
The volume of Omani imports from India amounted to RO 747.883 million represented in rice, motor fuel, natural gasoline, wheat, ignition control of vehicles and iron ore.
By the end of June 2023, the volume of Indian investments in Oman amounted to RO 378.4 million. The number of Indian companies investing in Oman by the end of 2022 reached 1,744 with an investment volume of RO 281 million. These investments are distributed in sectors of industry, construction, trade, transportation, communications, oil and gas, mining, quarrying, education, agriculture, fisheries, tourism and health.
The Oman News Agency said India’s invitation to Oman to be a guest of honour in the G20 Summit which it hosted, represents an affirmation of the advanced and sincere relations between the two friendly countries.
These relations were confirmed by Muscat and New Delhi during the eighth Omani-Indian strategic dialogue session held last January 2023, which highlighted the top priority that the two leaderships attach to strengthening bilateral strategic relations based on mutual trust and respect.
Oman’s Ambassador to India Issa bin Saleh Al Shaibani said that what unites Oman and India is their ancient civilizations, and their historic deep-rooted relations, which are embodied through a combination of historic, cultural and economic interdependence. These relations, the ambassador noted, flourish during the current era, strengthened by the two wise leaderships of both countries and a common outlook towards a growing political position, and a developed and prosperous economy.
On the other hand, Indian Ambassador to Oman Amit Narang affirmed that India, its government and people, look forward to welcoming Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on his first visit to India. He expressed his confidence that this visit will be a new milestone in the framework of bilateral relations between the two countries, as per Oman News Agency.
