Why India getting access to a strategic port in Oman may not amount to much

India's economy and not wishful thinking will dictate whether this port will be of much use to India in the future or not

India signed a pact with Oman earlier this month that allows Indian Navy to use the port of Duqm. Strategic affairs experts contend that this could have far-reaching consequences for Indian Navy’s reach in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. In this Business Standard Special, Abhijit Iyer-Mitra analyses whether such hopes are misplaced.

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India has signed an amorphous deal, supposedly acquiring basing rights at the Omani port of Duqm. Yet again we're treated to an exasperating barrage of press reports on the "strategic" nature of this pact and that wonderful all-occasion descriptor of the Indian press (including