Indian Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman HE Anil Wadhwa is upbeat on Oman-India bilateral relationship. Speaking to Vistas in an exclusive interview he says the two booming economies of India and Oman have opened up numerous horizons for further stronger relations to be developed upon. Pointing out that Indians formed the largest expatriate workforce in Oman, the Ambassador said India and Oman have historically enjoyed very warm and cordial relations and bilateral relations between the two nations are based on perfect mutual understanding, respect for each other’s culture, traditions, beliefs and mutual desire to progress with peace.

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It is believed that Trade between India and Oman has registered the highest growth of 66 per cent and amounted to $ 1.5 billion in 2007 from $ 900 million in 2006.  Which are the main areas of cooperation?   What are the recent developments?

Indian exports to Oman jumped 80 per cent to US$ 1.04 billion in 2007 from US$ 578 million in 2006. The main contributors to the significant jump in India’s export figures were steel pipes, copper products, rice, cement clinker and fuel oil for ships. Similarly, Omani exports to India jumped 60.5 percent to reach US$ 457 million in 2007 from US$ 323 million in 2006. Major Omani exports to India included urea, LNG, polypropylene, lubricating oil, dates and chromites ore.
Several high-level visits have taken place lately, which have added a significant momentum to the bilateral relations. Important visits from Oman to India during the last one year include that of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers His Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said along with several Cabinet Ministers, Minister of Commerce and Industry HE Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, Minister of Higher Education HE Rawya bint Saud Al Busaidiyah, Minister of Tourism HE Dr Rajhia bint Abdul Ameer bin Ali, and President of Omani Public Authority for Craft Industries HE Shaikha Aisha bint Khalfan bin Jameel Al Siyabiah. Similarly from the Indian side, External Affairs Minister HE Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of State for External Affairs HE E. Ahamed and Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs HE Vayalar Ravi visited Oman. Minister of Commerce and Industry HE Kamal Nath is expected to visit Muscat later in the year for the sixth session of the India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting.

Besides, we have signed many important bilateral agreements such as the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation (1953), Air Services Agreement (1973), Cultural Agreement (1991), Agreement on Trade, Economic & Technical Cooperation (1993), Agreement on Science & Technology (1996), MOU on Cooperation in Agriculture (1996), Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation (1977), Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Bilateral Trade (1977), Extradition Treaty (2004), MOU on Defence Cooperation (2005), MOU on Cooperation in the field of High Education (2008), etc.

Could you please tell us something about Oman India bilateral relations?  What is the status of India-Oman Free Trade Agreement?

India and Oman have historically enjoyed very warm and cordial relations.  Archaeological finds indicate the existence of maritime relations between the two countries since the period of Indus Valley Civilization. The treaties of Ibn-Batuta and Marco Polo also mention Indians residing here.  In the late 18th century, the famous Sultan of Mysore Tipu sent his emissaries to Oman. Indian business community has been settled here for generations, and some of them have even taken Omani citizenship.

However, formal diplomatic ties between the two countries were established in 1955, the golden jubilee of which was celebrated by us recently.   Bilateral relations between our two nations are based on perfect mutual understanding, respect for each other’s culture, traditions, beliefs and mutual desire to progress with peace.  We have been partners in progress, and Indians working in Oman have earned a name for their dedication, honesty and loyalty.  Keeping this in view, our both countries have sustained a close brotherly relationship through dialogues and the exchange of visits at various levels.  Many visits at the level of heads of state as well as ministerial levels had taken place between the two nations. 

Our political relations are based on mutual respect and commonality of views on major regional and international issues.  Our deep-rooted cultural relations have been strengthened by close people-to-people contacts.  Oman is the second home to around 500,000 Indians who have earned love and admiration from their Omani brethren and the Government for their diligence, sincerity, law abiding nature and hard work.  Many Omanis visit every year to India for higher education, medical and leisure tourism as well as business.  The two booming economies of India and Oman have opened up numerous horizons for further stronger relations to be developed upon.

India is not engaged with Oman on an FTA bilaterally; rather it has been holding talks with GCC as a bloc for early conclusion of an FTA – a process that started with the signing of a framework agreement between India and the GCC states in Mumbai in early 2004. The discussions have been progressing satisfactorily. In fact, there is a shared desire to elevate the status of the agreement to FTA++ which will also include investment and services.

Indians form the largest expatriate workforce in Oman, like in other parts of the Gulf.  What would be the current number of Indians working in Oman and what are the main challenges pertaining to them?

According to official estimates, there were 432,000 Indian workers working in private sector of Oman as on 1.10.2007. If we add to this the Indians working in government sector as well as their accompanying families, the number will easily cross 500,000. By and large, Indian expatriates in Oman do not face serious problems pertaining to their work because of the workers friendly environment that has been ensured by the visionary policies of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said.  However, there had been sporadic cases of non-payment of wages and perks and some other form of harassment of Indian expatriates at work place.  These are being addressed promptly in collaboration with local authorities.

Is the problem of illegal workers a major issue?

An expatriate worker is rendered illegal for three reasons – either his work permit is not renewed in time by the sponsor or he absconds from his work for reasons of harassment (or sometimes even for the attraction of higher wages).  The third reason is that, sometimes, Indian expatriate workers are brought into the Sultanate on a visit visa but the main purpose is to bring them for employment.  This violation of the purpose of visa renders them illegal when they are gainfully employed.  However, the Government and the Embassy of India are addressing this problem with a two-pronged strategy – creating public awareness in India about job requirement and proper visa procedures and secondly, bringing such defaulters (agents in India as well as in Oman) to book in cooperation with the authorities of the Sultanate.  I can proudly claim that we have received full cooperation from the Omani authorities in this regard.

It is learnt that now for most jobs educational certificate copies need to be attested by the Ministry of External Affairs & Oman Embassy/Consulate in India, before the application for visa can be submitted here in Oman.  This seems to be causing a lot of hardship to potential Indian job seekers.  Many of them are reportedly having to visit Delhi from their home states bearing hardships and inconveniences, to expedite the process.  Can the Indian Embassy here not facilitate the process at least for those who are already here?

The reason why education certificates need to be attested by the Ministry of Human Resource Development/State Governments and then by the Ministry of External Affairs is because of the recent incidence of malpractices with regard to such documents whereby documents and the seals themselves were proved to be fake in some instances.  However, the Embassy of India in Muscat tries to help all those who it feels possessed genuine documents or where these are needed on an urgent basis.  For those individuals who are already working in Oman and need to switch jobs within a particular time-frame, the Embassy tries to be flexible in its approach.

With the economic boom that India has been witnessing lately, there seems to be an influx of Indians to other parts of the world primarily for the purpose of tourism.  Is this true in the Oman context too?  Are Indians now coming to Oman for leisure and tourism other than employment?  Is there anything being done to ease the process of issuance of tourist visas to citizens of India?

Oman is endowed with rich bounty of natural beauty and has created a niche for itself as a unique travel destination in the Middle East for adventure and eco-tourism. Increased air connectivity between the two countries has definitely added to the steady growth in number of arrivals from India. However, the figures are not available with the Indian Embassy. The Omani authorities will be definitely having the figures. But it will be safe to assume that more Indians than before are visiting Oman these days to explore business and investment opportunities.
Oman does not have visa-on-arrival system for Indians, which is understandable. The Omani Ministry of Tourism’s efforts to create a brand image for Oman and to develop tourism by undertaking major tourism-related infrastructure projects, increasing direct air connectivity between Oman and other countries, imparting training to Omanis in tourism management etc. have already started paying rich dividends. The future is going to witness a surge in foreign tourist arrivals in Oman, including from India and for certain segments, the Omani authorities should hopefully have no problem in granting visa-on-arrival even to Indians.
India and Oman have proposed the setting up of a $100 million fund for investment in areas like education, information technology, telecommunications and science & technology in both the countries.  What is status of this proposed fund?

The decision was made at the highest level to launch an India-Oman Joint Investment Fund with an initial seed capital of US$ 100 million during the visit of the Omani Deputy prime Minister for the Council of Ministers His Highness Sayyid Fahd Bin Mahmoud Al Said to New Delhi in December 2007. Subsequently an Indian delegation comprising officials from the Ministries of External Affairs, Finance and Commerce & Industry visited Muscat in March this year and had held positive discussions with Omani authorities. We are hopeful that the fund will be launched before the end of the year.

“The future is going to witness a surge in foreign tourist arrivals in Oman, including from India and for certain segments of tourism, Omani Ministry of Tourism should have no problem in granting visa-on-arrival even to Indians.”

“Bilateral relations between our two nations are based on perfect mutual understanding, respect for each other’s culture, traditions, beliefs and mutual desire to progress with peace.  We have been partners in progress, and Indians working in Oman have earned a name for their dedication, honesty and loyalty.”

“The two booming economies of India and Oman have opened up numerous horizons for further stronger relations to be developed upon.”