Cuttack (Odisha) [India], December 19 (ANI): Industry leaders have hailed the India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) as a significant milestone that will deepen economic engagement between the two nations and open new avenues for Indian businesses.

Subhrakant Panda, Former FICCI President and Managing Director of Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys, described the agreement that was signed on Thursday as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Viksit Bharat, emphasizing that trade and economic ties hold immense significance in India's development trajectory.

Highlighting India's evolving approach to trade agreements, Panda noted that the country has been paying considerable attention to opening up new opportunities in trade, business, and market access, while ensuring mobility for Indian professionals.

'Other FTAs which have been signed have investment commitments and technology transfer. There has been a very focused approach for FTAs. India-Oman CEPA is built on ties between the two nations and opens up greater collaboration, which will lead to an increase in trade and also bring the two nations closer,' he said.

Earlier, FICCI President Anant Goenka welcomed the signing of the India-Oman CEPA, calling it a landmark agreement that will deepen India's economic engagement with the Middle East. 'India's economic partnerships continue to strengthen under PM Narendra Modi ji's leadership.

The pact will boost trade, investment and enhance sectoral cooperation, broadening opportunities for Indian businesses across goods as well as services,' Goenka stated.

He emphasized that the CEPA opens significant opportunities for Indian service providers, with highly liberalized commitments offered by Oman regarding the mobility of Indian professionals as well as commercial presence in the Gulf nation.

Industry representatives described the agreement as another historic step that will provide a major boost to the Make-in-India initiative. The comprehensive nature of the pact is expected to facilitate technology transfer, strengthen investment flows, and create new business opportunities across multiple sectors. With Oman serving as a strategic gateway to the Middle East, the CEPA is anticipated to enhance India's economic footprint in the region while furthering the longstanding ties between the two nations.

This Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman marks an important milestone in India's engagement with the Gulf region and reflects the shared commitment to deepen bilateral economic integration. Oman is an important strategic partner in the region and is a key gateway for Indian goods and services to the wider Middle East and Africa. Nearly 7 lakh Indian nationals reside in Oman, including Indian merchant families with a presence of over 200-300 years, contributing significantly to Oman's economy and society. Indian enterprises have built a strong presence in Oman, with over 6,000 Indian establishments operating across sectors. Annual remittances of around USD 2 billion further reflect the depth of economic engagement. Bilateral trade between India and Oman stands at over USD 10 billion, with strong potential for expansion under the CEPA framework.

This is the 2nd Free Trade Agreement signed in the last six months after United Kingdom and is a part of strategy to sign trade agreements with developed economies that are not competing with our labour-intensive interests and provide opportunities for Indian businesses.

The CEPA secures unprecedented tariff concessions for India from Oman. Oman has offered zero-duty access on 98.08% of its tariff lines, covering 99.38% of India's exports to Oman. All major labour-intensive sectors including Gems & Jewellery, Textiles, leather, footwear, sports goods, plastics, furniture, agricultural products, engineering products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and Automobiles receive full tariff elimination. Out of the above, immediate tariff elimination is being offered on 97.96% Tariff Lines.

India is offering tariff liberalization on 77.79% of its total tariff lines (12556) which covers 94.81% of India's imports from Oman by value. For the products of export interest to Oman and which are sensitive to India, the offer is mostly a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) based tariff liberalization.

To safeguard its interest, sensitive products have been kept in the exclusion category by India without offering any concessions, especially agricultural products, including dairy, tea, coffee, rubber, and tobacco products; gold and silver bullion, jewellery; other labour-intensive products such as footwear, sports goods; and scrap of many base metals. (ANI)