Oman-India CEPA: Staking a Claim in the Race for India
New Delhi becomes the epicenter of Gulf economic diversification efforts.
The Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of India are in the final stages of negotiating their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a free trade agreement launched in November 2023, though progress has been delayed by India’s concerns over Oman’s ‘Omanisation’ policy, which mandates quotas for Omani nationals across various sectors and is subject to change, creating uncertainty. This initiative follows India’s established free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, highlighting a sense of economic rivalry within the Gulf region, while Oman’s pursuit of the CEPA reflects its broader strategy of economic diversification. This development comes shortly after Qatar’s recent $10 billion investment in India, further underscoring the centrality of New Delhi in intra-gulf competition.
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