INDIA AND OMAN

• The Secretary General of the Ministry of Defence of the Sultanate of Oman is on a visit to India.
• He will be in Delhi to co-chair the Joint Military Cooperation Committee (JMCC) with India’s Defence Secretary.

Important points:

• The two countries across the Arabian Sea are linked by geography, history and culture and enjoy warm and cordial relations, which are attributed to historical maritime trade linkages.
• While people-to-people contact between India and Oman can be traced back 5000 years, diplomatic relations were established in 1955 and the relationship was upgraded to Strategic partnership in 2008. Oman has been a key pillar of India’s West Asia Policy.
• The Sultanate of Oman is a strategic partner of India in the Gulf and an important interlocutor at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Arab League and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) fora.
• Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 was conferred on Late HM Sultan Qaboos in recognition of his leadership in strengthening the ties between India & Oman and his efforts to promote peace in the Gulf region.

Indian Community in Oman:

• There are about 6.2 lakh Indians in Oman, of which about 4.8 lakh are workers and professionals. There are Indian families living in Oman for more than 150-200 years.
• There are many Indian schools offering CBSE syllabus catering to the educational needs of about 45,000 Indian children.
• Oman is India’s closest defence partner in the Gulf region and an important anchor for India’s defence and strategic interests.
• Oman is at the gateway of Strait of Hormuz through which India imports one-fifth of its oil imports.
• Defence cooperation has emerged as a key pillar for the robust India-Oman strategic partnership. Defence exchanges are guided by a Framework MOU which was recently renewed in 2021.
• Oman is the only country in the Gulf region with which all three services of the Indian armed forces conduct regular bilateral exercises and staff talks, enabling close cooperation and trust at the professional level.
• Oman also provides critical operational support to Indian naval deployments in the Arabian sea for anti-piracy missions.
• Bilateral training cooperation between the two sides is also robust with Omani forces regularly subscribing to training courses in India both at professional as well as higher command level. Indian armed forces also subscribe to the Staff and Command courses conducted in Oman.
• Oman also actively participates in the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS).
• India has supplied rifles to Oman. Also, India is considering setting up a defence production unit in Oman.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT