External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasized the importance of India’s commitment to strengthening regional cooperation and ensuring a stable and prosperous Indian Ocean region, during his visit to Oman.
Jaishankar also underscored India’s commitment to strengthening regional cooperation while delivering the keynote address in the inaugural session of the 8th Indian Ocean Conference.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the External Affairs Minister described his visit to Oman as “fruitful” and presented glimpses of his bilateral engagements with a caption, “Forging robust partnerships across the Indian Ocean Region.”
Jaishankar also posted that he was pleased to address the inaugural session of 08th Indian Ocean Conference, on our voyage to new horizons of maritime partnership.
“A global lifeline, the Indian Ocean region comes together to meet its development, connectivity, maritime and security aspirations,” he said in his post.
The External Affairs Minister’s visit comes at a time when India and Oman are celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations.
In his post, Jaishankar who has been a career diplomat, highlighted how India is contributing to the numerous shared endeavours.
He listed the following ten points to draw attention to India’s contribution.
-As a stable partner and friend in times of COVID, food and fuel shortages or even economic crisis.
-As a promoter of greater land and sea connectivity – be it IMEC, IMTT or INSTC.
-In becoming a first responder to conflicts and disasters in the region, both natural and man made.
-By promoting interoperability and synergies with partners to face maritime contingencies and piracy.
-Ensuring maritime safety and security by establishing coastal surveillance radars and partnering on White Shipping agreements.
-In responding to extreme situations through deployment of naval forces.
-Though capacity – building of other Indian Ocean Navies and coast guards.
-By ensuring trusted and secure communication in a digital era.
-In closing gaps and building bridges between resident and non resident powers with the Global South. And discouraging alien agendas.
-Supporting institution building in the region, be it IORA, BIMSTEC, IONS, CSC, IPOI or the Indian Ocean Conference itself.
To mark the occasion, Jaishankar also unveiled a logo along Oman’s Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi.
The logo symbolizes the long-standing partnership built on history, culture and people-to-people ties.
The Ministry of External Affairs said that Jaishankar’s visit to Oman reaffirms the robust and multifaceted relationship between India and Oman and sets the stage for further strengthening bilateral and regional cooperation.
The two leaders reviewed the full spectrum of India-Oman relations and discussed avenues for further enhancing collaboration in areas of mutual interest, during a bilateral meeting.
Jaishankar and Albusaidi also launched the book ‘Mandvi to Muscat: Indian Community and The Shared History of India and Oman’.
The book highlights the rich history of the Indian diaspora in Oman and the centuries-old people-to-people ties that continue to shape bilateral relations.
Jaishankar conveyed his appreciation to the leadership of the Sultanate of Oman for hosting the Indian Ocean Conference and for their steadfast support in strengthening India-Oman ties.
On the sidelines of the conference, the External Affairs Minister held bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Iran, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
He captioned his meeting with Ritesh Ramphul, Foreign Minister of Mauritius, as a “warm first meeting.”
During these meetings, they discussed key regional and global issues of mutual concern and reinforced India’s commitment to deeper engagement with the Indian Ocean Region.
Oman is a crucial pillar of India’s West Asia Policy and its oldest regional strategic partner.
While people-to-people contact between India and Oman can be traced back 5000 years, diplomatic relations were established in 1955. The relationship was upgraded to a Strategic Partnership in November, 2008.
Oman is India’s closest defense partner in Gulf region and defense cooperation has
emerged as a key pillar of the strategic partnership between India and Oman.
Notably, Oman is the first Gulf country with which all the three wings of India’s defense forces hold joint exercises.
India is among Oman’s top trading partners.
The government of Oman often acknowledges the role played by the Indian expatriate community in building Oman.
Visits at the highest level have been exchanged frequently between India and Oman.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Oman in February, 2018.
The then Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, V. Muraleedharan visited
Oman on 18-19 October, 2023.
India’s National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, paid an official visit to Oman on 25- 27 June, 2020.
Jaishankar visited Oman from December 23-25, 2019
During India’s presidency of G 20, many ministers from Oman visited India.
The Foreign Minister of Oman, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi visited India from March 1-3, 2023 to participate in G20 Foreign Minister’s Meeting and Raisina Dialogue 2023.
Sayyid Asaad bin Tarik Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations & Cooperation Affairs and Personal Representative of the Sultan visited India to participate in G20 Summit held on 9-10 September 2023.
He was accompanied by Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi, Foreign Minister, Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry & Investment Promotion, Said bin Mohammed Al Saqri, Minister of Economy,and Pankaj Khimji, Advisor Foreign Trade and International Cooperation at Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion.
