



India–Oman CEPA set to be signed as New Delhi steps up Gulf trade push
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: As the India-Oman free trade agreement (FTA) is set to be signed on Thursday during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Muscat, the deal is being positioned as a key pillar of India’s expanding economic and strategic engagement with the Gulf, even as its immediate trade upside remains measured by the size of Oman’s market. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will be the final stop of the Prime Minister’s three-nation tour, which included Jordan and Ethiopia.
Negotiated since November 2023, the pact covers goods, services and investment and is expected to come into force in a few months, following domestic ratification. The FTA will be signed in the presence of Modi and Oman’s head of state, along with senior officials from both sides, as per a commerce ministry official. Modi arrived in Oman on Wednesday for a two-day visit and was received at the airport by Oman’s deputy prime minister for defence affairs, Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said.
The FTA with Oman will be the first trade agreement to be signed during the tenure of commerce secretary Rajesh Agarwal, while for the NDA government led by Modi, it will mark the sixth such pact. India is also in the final leg of negotiations with the European Union and the US on separate trade arrangements. The trade agreement with Mauritius was signed in February 2021, followed by UAE in February 2022, Australia in April 2022, EFTA in February 2024, and UK in July 2025.
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