India and Oman discuss activating CEPA to ease bilateral trade
India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal just had a telecall with Oman's Anwar bin Hilal bin Hamdoun Al Jabri to talk about making business smoother between the two countries.
The big topic? A new trade deal called CEPA, signed last December but still waiting to kick in.
If it goes live, India gets almost all its exports into Oman duty-free (think textiles, farm goods, and leather) while India will reduce tariffs on Omani products like dates and petrochemicals.
India Gulf trade hits $178 billion
Even with recent disruptions in shipping, trade between India and the Gulf region hit $178 billion in 2024-25.
Goyal isn't stopping at Oman: he's been chatting up trade ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait too.
All these talks are about building stronger economic friendships and unlocking more opportunities for both sides.