What happened?
On January 13, 2025, India and Oman held a two-day fifth round of talks for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA). The first round of formal negotiations for the agreement, officially dubbed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), were held in November 2023. Despite progress, the earlier negotiations hit a roadblock amid differences over market access for petrochemical products.
Why it matters to India
A comprehensive trade deal with Oman is a part of India’s keenness to improve its relations with West Asian nations. Oman is part of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and bilateral trade between India and Oman has reached $8.9 billion in the financial year 2023-24. Among the GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE), India already has a trade agreement with the UAE, which was signed in February 2022.