Sushma Swaraj to visit Sultanate of Oman

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be paying her first official bilateral visit to the Sultanate of Oman beginning tomorrow at the invitation of her Omani counterpart Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.

The External Affairs Minister will be on a two-day visit to the Sultanate of Oman.

Both nations have enjoyed close and friendly relations based on extensive people-to-people contacts and historical economic and cultural exchanges.

Oman is an important trading partner of India in the Gulf region with bilateral trade exceeding US$ 5.7 billion in 2013-14. The well acknowledged and highly appreciated contribution of over 700,000 strong Indian expatriate communities in the progress and development of Oman is an important pillar in the strong and mutually beneficial bilateral ties.

During the forthcoming visit, the two sides would discuss bilateral, regional and other issues of mutual interest. India has vital stakes in the security and stability of the Gulf region which hosts around 7 million Indians.

The Gulf countries are the source of two-third of India's crude oil requirements and form the largest trading regional block for India accounting for about a quarter of our global trade.