Prime Minister attends India-Oman Business Meet in Muscat , Oman ( February 12 , 2018 )
INDIA-OMAN RELATIONS A PRODUCT OF HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL , ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL BONDS
By Dr . Lakshmi Priya *
India and Oman share a strategic and cordial relationship , well reflected in their multi-faceted bilateral engagements across various fields . India as well as Oman have respected each other ’ s sovereignty and share an enduring bond which has only been growing stronger with time .
Situated across the Arabian Sea , India is Oman ’ s natural partner with which it has been engaged in trade since ancient times . Oman hosts over 800,000 Indian expatriates who send remittances back home and are a constant source of income for India . There are more than 250 flights per week between Muscat and Salalah in Oman and a dozen locations in India . India and Oman conduct regular biennial bilateral military exercises , and the total India-
Oman bilateral trade amounts to $ 6.7 billion ( 2017-18 ). The visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Oman in February 2018 served to further bolster the already warm and cordial relationship between the two countries .
India ’ s capital New Delhi is geographically closer to Muscat than many Indian cities . The roots of the India-Oman relationship can be traced to the 5000 year old maritime trade between the two countries . Oman has been bestowed with a topography that isolates it within the Arabian Peninsula as well as keeps it secluded from the outside world . The Gulf of Oman , the Arabian Sea , and the Rub al Khali ( Empty Quarter ) of Saudi Arabia ensure that the only contact that Oman can have with outer world is through its water ways . It is no wonder ,
14 • INDIA-OMAN • 2018