CEPA Opens Indian Market to Omani Exports: Key Opportunities for Oman’s Business Growth and Investment
MUSCAT: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion has announced that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of India provides preferential access to 97.4 percent of Omani exports to the Indian market, representing a significant advancement in bilateral economic relations.
The Ministry highlighted that the agreement underscores the strong, long-standing partnership between Oman and India, building on the outcomes of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s Royal Visit to India. Following the visit, Oman resumed negotiations adopting a comprehensive economic, legal, and technical strategy aimed at maximizing national benefits and supporting priority sectors.
Negotiations, conducted between 2023 and 2025 over five rounds, were informed by specialized studies, including an economic impact assessment by Deloitte & Touche. The study emphasized CEPA’s positive effects on tariff liberalization, export growth, increased investment flows, and enhanced competitiveness of Omani products internationally.
Bilateral trade reached approximately $7 billion in 2024, positioning India as one of Oman’s key trading partners, particularly for non-oil exports such as polyethylene, urea, gypsum, ethylene, and metal products. Under the agreement, the overall market access for Omani goods in India is about 77.8 percent, with improved concessions for strategically important products. In exchange, Oman will gradually reduce customs duties on 99.22 percent of Indian goods, aligning with national economic priorities and industry protection policies.
The agreement comprises 16 chapters covering trade in goods and services, customs procedures, rules of origin, trade remedies, intellectual property, movement of natural persons, support for SMEs, and economic cooperation. It incorporates safeguards including anti-dumping and countervailing measures, while preserving Omanisation policies and professions reserved for Omani nationals.
India ranks among the top ten foreign investors in Oman, with investments totaling around RO 286 million in the first quarter of 2025 across sectors such as steel, fertilizers, clean energy, healthcare, and petrochemicals. The Ministry anticipates CEPA will further support food and drug security, digital trade, logistics, mining, innovation, tourism, and emerging industries in line with Oman Vision 2040.
With Indian tariffs averaging approximately 17 percent before the agreement, CEPA is expected to significantly reduce trade barriers, granting Omani businesses access to a market valued at over $17 trillion. A national rapid intervention team will oversee implementation as Oman progresses toward ratification and deeper integration into the global trading framework. — ONA
Special Analysis by Omanet | Navigate Oman’s Market
The CEPA between Oman and India presents a transformative opportunity for Oman’s export-driven sectors, especially non-oil industries, by granting preferential access to a $17 trillion market and lowering trade barriers substantially. Businesses and investors should strategically pivot towards sectors like clean energy, digital trade, and innovation, while leveraging enhanced market access to diversify and upscale exports. However, they must also navigate gradual tariff liberalization on Indian goods carefully to protect domestic industries amid increasing competition.
