Sushma visiting Oman Feb 17

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be visiting Oman Feb 17-18 on her first bilateral visit to the key Gulf country, returning the visit of her Omani counterpart, Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, who had been among the first top foreign dignitaries to establish contact with the Narendra Modi government after it came to power last May.

Abdullah had visited India June 3 as special envoy of the Sultan and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convey the greetings of his ruler and reaffirm the importance of the relations with India.

Modi had conveyed his deep appreciation at the visit and said he looked forward to further strengthening the close ties between the two countries.

Modi had also conveyed his thanks to the Sultan for looking after the welfare of 700,000 Indians living in Oman.

Abdullah had also visited India in February 2014 when the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government was in place.

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

During Sushma Swaraj's visit, the two sides are to 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 seven 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 its global trade, said the statement.