New Delhi
The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal said that India was considering entering into a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Oman. He was delivering the Keynote Address at the 10th Meeting of India-Oman Joint Business Council (JBC) in New Delhi . He also added that India was already looking at a comprehensive trade agreement with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, of which Oman is an important member. The Minister said that the Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) that took place yesterday between India and Oman, that had been long overdue, was a very productive one. He expressed confidence that the discussions with business leaders on both sides would complement the discussions under JCM, come up with new ideas to boost our already deep bonds of friendship, and turn our vision into reality. Observing that India and Oman have been connected for more than 5,000 years through friendship and brotherhood and very warm and strong people-to-people ties, the Minister said that despite such close relations, the bilateral trade and investment in the two nations were yet to reach maximum potential. Shri Goyal stressed that all the engagement that happened in the JCM, the friendship between him and his counterpart in Oman, the visionary leadership of the heads of both nations and the warm people to people ties between the two nations should and must lead to significant increase in business to business engagement. Paying his respects to Late HM Sultan Qaboos, Shi Piyush Goyal said that he was held in very high esteem in India and was conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize. He was one of the architects of close India-Oman bilateral relations, the Minister added.
