BILATERAL ISSUES

ISRAEL

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and Israeli Defence Minister telephonically discuss further strengthening defence ties, New Delhi, 24 July 2020.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh had a telephonic conversation with Defence Minister of Israel Lt Gen Benjamin Gantz here today. Both the Ministers expressed satisfaction at the progress of strategic cooperation between the two countries and discussed possibilities of further strengthening the defence engagements.

They also expressed satisfaction at the ongoing collaboration in research and development in fighting pandemic COVID-19 which will not only benefit the two countries but also aid the larger humanitarian cause. Raksha Mantri invited greater participation of Israeli defence companies under new liberalised foreign direct investment (FDI) regime in defence manufacturing. The two Ministers exchanged views on regional developments.  Defence Minister of Israel responded positively to an invitation from Shri Rajnath Singh to visit India at the earliest opportunity. Source: Press Information Bureau (PIB).

OMAN

Oman-India Investment Webinar- ‘Invest in Duqm’, Muscat, 30 July 2020.

The Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm [SEZAD], hosted an Oman-India Investment Webinar on ‘Invest in Duqm’ on 28 July, 2020, in association with Embassy of India, Muscat. The webinar saw participation of more than 300 officials and business leaders from India and Oman.

The webinar was addressed by H.E. Yahya Said Al Jabri, Chairman SEZAD and Shri Munu Mahawar, Ambassador of India to Oman. There were presentations by Mr. Azzan Al Busaidi, CEO, Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development [ITHRAA]: Mr. Saleh Al Hasni, Deputy CEO, SEZAD; Mr. Hashim Al Ibrahim , Business Director, Port of Duqm Company ; Mr. Ahmad Al Sheuili, Marketing Manager, Oman Drydock Company and Mr. Pradeep Kumar Nair, CEO Sebacic Oman. Ambassador of Oman to India, H.E. Sheikh Hamad Bin Saif Al Rawahi also attended the seminar.

H.E. Yahya Said Al Jabri, in his address highlighted the world class infrastructure in Oman, ease of doing business and various incentives offered by SEZAD to attract investments. He also stated that the investments in Oman by India stood at RO 275 million [INR 53 billion] in 2019.

Ambassador Munu Mahawar touched on the strong bilateral relations and age old economic, social and cultural links between India and Oman. Ambassador spoke of the investment opportunities in Oman and Duqm in particular. He also spoke on the recent economic reforms carried out in India and invited Omani companies to invest in India. He also outlined PM Modi’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat [self-reliant India].

Others focused on the trade and investment opportunities as well as the package of incentives offered by SEZAD for foreign investors and ongoing / upcoming projects in the Webinar.

India and Oman enjoy strong economic and commercial relations and India is among Oman’s top trading partners. During 2019-20, the bilateral trade was US$ 5.93 billion. Indian firms have invested heavily in Oman in various sectors like iron and steel, cement, fertilizers, cables, chemicals, automotive, etc. Bilateral Investment flows have been robust as reflected in numerous joint ventures, established both in India and Oman. According to Oman’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, there are 4100 Indian enterprises and establishments in Oman with an estimated investment of US$ 7.5 billion. Source: Embassy of India, Muscat.    

As part of the policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spellings and date format to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND P R Kumaraswamy