The Hindu | 25 April 2009

Oman urges India to sign FTA

Sandeep Joshi

NEW DELHI: India and Oman are in the final stages of setting up a $100-million fund that will be utilised in development and infrastructure projects in both nations. To boost trade relations with Oman and other Gulf nations, Oman has urged India to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Talking to The Hindu here, Oman’s Ambassador to India Humaid Al-Maani said an agreement between the two nations on the formation of the fund would be signed shortly. “Both India and Oman will have equal contribution towards the $100-million fund,” he said.

Stating that both nations had agreed to take the fund’s corpus to $1.5 billion, Mr. Al-Maani said this initiative would give a big boost to development projects in both nations. During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Oman last year it was finalised to form a joint venture fund to help companies of both nations.