Oman and India Sign the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
Muscat – December 2025
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in the Sultanate of Oman on Wednesday, 17 December 2025, for an official two-day visit, held talks with His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, Sultan of Oman—a visit widely regarded as a turning point in bilateral relations between Muscat and New Delhi.
During the visit, the leaders of the two countries met at Al Barakah Palace, where they reviewed avenues of bilateral cooperation and ways to expand economic and investment partnerships. Discussions focused on key sectors including energy, technology, logistics, food security, industry, and agricultural production. The two sides also exchanged views on major regional and international developments.
The highlight of the visit was the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Oman and India, aimed at strengthening trade and investment cooperation, facilitating the flow of goods and services, and establishing a strategic framework for expanding collaboration in vital sectors.
The agreement was signed by Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, and Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry.
The signing of the CEPA is expected to bring broad benefits to Oman’s economy, including the gradual reduction and elimination of customs tariffs on key Omani exports to the Indian market, enhanced access for Omani goods to one of the world’s largest consumer markets, and improved competitiveness of “Made in Oman” products internationally. The agreement will streamline customs procedures, reduce clearance times, lower operational costs, and support industrial cooperation in sectors such as energy, petrochemicals, metals, agriculture, and downstream industries.
In addition, CEPA opens new opportunities in trade in services, food security, healthcare, advanced technologies, and investment attraction, while supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, economic diversification, non-oil exports, and Oman’s integration into regional and global trade chains.
At the conclusion of the meetings, His Majesty the Sultan of Oman, as a gesture reflecting the depth of historical and political relations between the two countries, conferred the Order of Oman on the Indian Prime Minister, and the two sides exchanged commemorative gifts.
Source: Oman News
