BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, MAR 9
Oman and India reaffirmed their strong and growing economic partnership during a high-level business seminar on “Leveraging the India–Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)”, which was held in Kochi (India) recently. The seminar brought together senior government officials, diplomats, policy experts and leading business representatives from both countries to explore strategic trade and investment opportunities under the CEPA framework.
Attending virtually were G V Srinivas, Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman, and Mahboob Issa Al Raisi, Consul General of the Sultanate of Oman in Mumbai. Abdul Latheef Uppala, Board Member of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) and Chairman of the Foreign Investment Committee, emphasized Oman’s investor-friendly regulatory environment and expanding opportunities across logistics, manufacturing, healthcare and infrastructure sectors.
A dedicated panel discussion on ‘India–Oman Trade and Investment Opportunities under CEPA’ was moderated by Dr Davis Kallukaran, Deputy Chairman, Foreign Investment Committee, OCCI. The panelists included Dr P Mohamed Ali, Founder, Galfar Group; Dr M I Sahadulla, Group Chairman & Managing Director, KIMS Health; Dr Siddeek Ahmed, Chairman & Managing Director, Eram Group; Abdul Latheef Uppala, board member OCCI; Sheraz Anwar, Director, Abad Group; and Anirudh Sankar, Senior Official, DGFT Kochi.
The panel deliberated on sector-specific collaboration in infrastructure development, healthcare services, industrial partnerships, export facilitation and regulatory alignment, while highlighting practical pathways for strengthening private-sector engagement between Oman and India.
The sessions that followed focused on ‘How Oman Vision 2040 is aligned with CEPA’, presented by Dr Yousuf Hamad al Balushi, Economic Advisor & Research Analyst, Oman, and a presentation on the Special Economic Zones and Free Zones of Oman and Madayn by Yarub Nasser al Siyabi, Specialist at OPAZ. The speakers highlighted priority sectors under Vision 2040 and significant investment potential within Duqm and other strategic economic zones.
Technical presentations by experts Dr James Nedumpara, Professor and Head CTIL Ridhish Rajvanshi Senior research Fellow and Tathagata Choudhury from the Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), Ministry of Commerce and Industry Government of India, provided clarity on tariff concessions, market access for services, digital trade provisions and export promotion mechanisms under CEPA.
The programme was jointly organized by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Kerala State Council, the Indo Gulf and Middle East Chamber of Commerce (INMECC), the foreign investment committee of OCCI, and the Centre for Trade and Investment law (CTIL) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
The Oman delegation was headed by Abdul Latheef Uppala, Board member OCCI and included Ahmed Ali al Akkak, CEO SEZAD, Yaqub Nasser al Siyabi from OPAZ, and Dr Yousuf Hamad al Balushi and Al Yaqadhan al Shukaili from Smart Investment Gateway.
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