Oman's Sultan calls PM Modi as strategic partners look at strengthening ties during Modi 3.0

New Delhi, June 11 (IANS) Sultan of Oman Haitham Bin Tarik's call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday assumes great significance as both countries work on further scaling up the India-Oman partnership during Modi 3.0.

Oman's Head of State, who had travelled to New Delhi last December -- the first visit to India by the Sultanate of Oman's Sultan in over 25 years since late Sultan Qaboos' trip in 1997 -- congratulated PM Modi on his historic third term following the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections.

During the call, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen and strengthen the India-Oman partnership for the mutual benefit of both countries.

"His Majesty emphasised the centuries-old ties of friendship between Oman and India and conveyed his best wishes for the progress and prosperity of the people of India. Prime Minister thanked His Majesty for his warm wishes and highlighted his historic visit to India in December 2023 which led to the deepening of bilateral cooperation in all areas," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik's India visit in December 2023 marked a significant milestone in the diplomatic relations between the two countries which share a longstanding history of friendship and cooperation, built on the foundation of mutual trust and respect, and strong people-to-people ties going back centuries.

A Joint Vision document titled 'A Partnership For the Future' was adopted during the visit, encompassing a shared vision of the leadership of Oman and India.

It acknowledged the remarkable synergy between Oman Vision 2040 and India's development objectives, under 'Amrit Kaal', affirming commitment to harnessing these complementarities for deepening the partnership between India and Oman.

"The document identifies a range of areas such as maritime cooperation and connectivity, energy security and green energy, space, technologies, and applications, digital payments and financial cooperation, trade and Investment, health, tourism and hospitality, IT & innovation, as well as agriculture and food security with specific action points as part of the future roadmap to deepen ties between both countries for implementation," stated the India-Oman Joint Statement released on December 16, 2023.

Oman, a key strategic partner of India, also remains an important interlocutor at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Arab League, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) fora.

India, which is one of the largest markets for Oman's crude oil exports, continues to show its interest in a network of ports and freight corridors in the region that lead into Eurasia and the African continent. This also includes the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZD) located at a distance of 550 kilometers from Oman's capital Muscat.

PM Modi, during his visit to the country in 2018, lauded the Sultanate's efforts to diversify its economy and welcomed the invitation to Indian companies to invest in various sectors in the special economic zones of Oman, including SEZs in Duqm, Sohar, and Salalah.

Last year, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval visited the strategic port after calling on Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and holding wide-ranging discussions with the Minister of the Royal Office and the country's Foreign Minister.