His Excellency Qais Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) attended the 10th Oman – India Joint Commission Meeting on Wednesday in New Delhi, holding discussions with counterparts His Excellency Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry and His Excellency Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy.
With the goal of forging a new business agenda to help drive growth for both Oman and India, the highly productive meeting took place on the second day of a five-day trade and investment mission to India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies and a country which Oman has historic cultural and commercial ties.
Accompanied by senior management from Oman Investment Authority, Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones and Madayn, Minister Al Yousef will hold high-level talks with senior management from Tata Steel, Hitachi, HCL, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and NITI Aayog, the Government of India’s leading policy think tank.
Noting his satisfaction with the outcomes of Wednesday’s 10th Oman – India Joint Commission Meeting, Minister Al Yousef said, “Today’s session underlined the fact that this is a partnership that can boost exports and investment as well as deliver growth, jobs and opportunities for our people. Under the wise guidance of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and with the ambitious framework provided by Oman Vision 2040, I see enormous possibilities for what our two countries can achieve together in areas from renewable energy and pharmaceuticals to new partnerships in small business development and manufacturing – areas where Oman and India have common interest and expertise.”
Indian investment in Oman which topped US$7.5 billion in 2022 was one of the key topics discussed by meeting participants with Minister Al Yousef noting the great interest expressed in the success of MoCIIP’s Invest Easy portal.
“Since April 2021, we have seen 94.8% increase in the number of Indian businesses registering with Invest Easy, this is up from 450 in 2019 to 877 in 2021. This uptick shows the great faith Indian companies have in Oman. A remarkable achievement that has been made possible thanks to the opportunities opened up by Oman Vision 2040, which, while future-focused is already having a positive impact on attracting investment into Oman and our economy in general.”
Cutting red tape is MoCIIP’s Invest Easy one-stop shop for investors, issuing licenses from ten leading authorities and approvals for more than 1,500 economic activities in one single e-transaction. Since the launch of the ministry’s new service in April 2021, over 196,000 licenses have been issued, 23,000 of which to foreign investors, a year-on-year rise of 305%.
Commenting on Oman’s US$1.2 billion non-oil exports to India in 2021, a jump of 172% on the previous year, Minister Al Yousef said, “This is a remarkable achievement given the serious disruptions we have seen to business during the pandemic and is testament to the hard work and dedication of manufacturers the length and breadth of Oman.”
Concluding Minister Al Yousef stated, “India has long been an important partner for Oman and there are real opportunities to further strengthen commercial relations between our two countries, particularly in manufacturing, renewables, healthcare, tourism, mining and logistics. By working together, business-to-business, government-to-government, and as people, we can, I believe, build a brighter, more prosperous future for India and Oman.”
