Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman hailed a very productive trip to India from December 15 to 17. The leaders of India and Oman have discussed closer economic and military ties in the wake of de-dollarization.
It was not only the Sultan's first visit to India but also the first by any Omani Sultan in 26 years, accompanied by a high-level entourage of senior ministers and administration officials.
The parties discussed India-Oman strategic partnership, cooperation in defence and economic fields. Against this backdrop, Sputnik India talked to experts to find out the prospect of strategic partnership between India and Oman.
India's Outreach in the Middle East Through Oman — Expert
“From an Indian perspective, protecting its western maritime borders—where the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea converge—is just as vital as safeguarding the east. Due to Oman's strategic location along the Maritime Silk Route, it is crucial to India’s West Asia Policy”, ambassador Anil Trigunayant, a former Indian Envoy to Jordon, Libya, and Malta, told Sputnik India.
Meanwhile, the Ambassador emphasised that “India's engagement with Oman will further influence its relation with other countries in the Gulf region”.
Speaking of the Cold War era, retired Colonel Rajeev Agarwal, Additional Director at Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), told Sputnik India that "the larger Arab world was ambivalent towards India, it was Oman which kept its doors open to India despite the historical connection between Oman and Baluchistan in Pakistan wherein Gwadar was an Omani territory which it sold to Pakistan in 1958 for $3 million."
De-Dollarisation: Rise of Alternative Currencies
“The Indian Rupee until the 1970s was the legal tender in the majority of Gulf nations. So, this is not something new. However, as time went on, particularly in the wake of the Ukrainian conflict, financial instruments have become more weaponized, and an increasing number of nations are attempting to convert to using their national currencies for trade and other interactions” said Trigunayant.
While discussing India’s position as the largest recipient of remittances, receiving an estimated $125 billion in 2023, the former ambassador pointed out that “this underscores the crucial role played by the Indian diaspora in supporting families and contributing to the country's economic resilience and Oman is home to a sizable Indian population. Thus, bilateral rupee commerce benefits both nations and reduces transaction costs.”
“With regards to digital payments, the Colonel emphasised that, “the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) signed a landmark MoU with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in October 2022 to link the payment systems between the two countries and launched the Rupay debit card in Oman, a key footprint of India’s initiative of promoting Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in the world,” noted Agarwal.
Oman's Duqm Port: India's Game-Changing Maritime Move
The Colonel discussed the strategic significance of the port of Duqm for India and pointed out that ‘it is situated right across the Indian coastline and overlooking the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea and near the Chabahar Port in Iran. Additionally, it enables India to support moderately expeditionary navy deployments.
“With Duqm in Oman, Chabahar in Iran, Assumption Island in the Seychelles, Agalega in Mauritius, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India will soon have access to support moderately expeditionary navy deployments,” Trigunayant noted.
Referring to Oman Minister General Sultan Nu’amani's comments on India's progress as a defence manufacturer — whose progress his country could benefit from — the colonel stated that ''several nations from West Asia, Africa, and South America have shown interest in India's Akash surface-to-air missile system."
"India and Oman are close defence partners, and while there are no concrete reports that Oman is explicitly searching for these missiles, India should give it serious consideration when it does',' he added.