His Majesty Sultan Haitham, PM Modi hold bilateral talks

New Delhi: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, today held an expanded session of official talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

At the outset of the session, His Majesty the Sultan gave a speech. It reads as follows:

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

We are pleased to express our delight at visiting your friendly country, as well as our deep thanks and appreciation for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to us.

Today, we stand on the friendly land of India as an embodiment of this historical moment in which we together consolidate relations of friendship and cooperation between our two countries, determined to launch a new bright era in the history of Omani-Indian ties that extendthousands of years.

Since ancient times, Oman and India have developed strong bonds of commercial, social, cultural and human interactions. Today, the Indian community residing and working in the Sultanate of Oman plays an important and constructive role in these approaches that benefit the two friendly countries and their peoples.

As we affirm our support for the existing strategic partnership between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of India, we look forward to the future with broader perspectives of cooperation and progress in various political, security, economic and scholarly spheres.

We have instructed members of the Omani government to continue working diligently with their Indian counterparts and accord priority to vital areas of cooperation in the sectors of security, defence, green energy, food security, information technology and the digital economy, as well as innovation and the development of startups and other sectors.

We also stress the importance of finalizing negotiations to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which constitutes an important strategic drive that treasures many benefits and reflects our common vision toexpand and consolidate commercial and economic relations in the interest of our two peoples.

The Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of India boast a long maritime history, a key geographical location and rich environmental, biological and cultural diversity. These advantages, as they used to be in the past, make our region a destination for tourism, trade, industry and investment. In recent years, the two countries emerged as oases of research and innovation in various fields.

We have a deep conviction in the policy of good neighborliness, peaceful coexistence and non-interference in the internal affairs of others. We strive to support all peaceful means to settle regional and international differences and conflicts, adhere to the rules of international law and develop a climate of security, peace and justice for all.

In conclusion, we would like to note down our personal appreciation to you, Mr. Prime Minister, for inviting the Sultanate of Oman as a guest to the G20 summit, which you chaired. We express our congratulations to you for the positive outcome of the summit, which you conducted with full success and aptitude. We once again reiterate our deep thanks for this invitation.

We wish the friendly Republic of India further progress, prosperity, security and stability”.

On his turn, the Indian Prime Minister gave a speech in which he said: “Today witnesses a historic event as the Sultan of Oman pays a state visit to India after 26 years. I welcome you on behalf of the Indian people.”

During the talks, topics of significance to the consolidation of bilateral relations were discussed. The two sides elaborated on joint efforts to open up vistas of close cooperation in various fields. They explored opportunities for investment in available resources in a manner that achieves the common interests of the Omani and Indian peoples.

The talks also dealt with developments taking place in regional and international arenas. The two sides discussed issues of common concern and efforts exerted in this regard.

The session was attended from the Omani side by HH Sayyid Shihab bin Tarik Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defence Affairs, Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court, Gen. Sultan Mohammed Al Nu’amani, Minister of the Royal Office, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Foreign Minister, Dr. Hamad bin Said Al Aufi, Head of the Private Office, Abdulsalam bin Mohammed Al Murshidi, Chairman of Oman Investment Authority (OIA), Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Eng. Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals, Pankaj Khimji, Advisor for Foreign Trade and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Hinai, Ambassador-at-Large at the Foreign Ministry and Issa Saleh Al Shibani, Ambassador of Oman to India.

Meanwhile, it was attended from the Indian side by Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Dr. P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to PM, Dr. V. Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs (Head of the Mission of Honour), Shri S. Somanath, Secretary, Department of Space,Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary, Shri Muktesh K. Pardeshi, Secretary (CPV & OIA), Shri Arindam Bagchi, Additional Secretary (XP), Shri Aseem R. Mahajan, Joint Secretary (Gulf), Shri Deepak Mittal, Joint Secretary to PM, Shri Randhir Kumar Jaiswal, Joint Secretary (XP) – designate, Dr. Hiren Joshi, OSD to PM, Shri Amit Narang, Ambassador of India to Oman and a number of Indian officials.    – ONA