India + Oman to sign trade agreement next week? Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Oman on 17 December, where he could sign the India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Economic Times reports.

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CEPA, ready to go: Oman’s Majlis A’Shura will review the draft agreement today, Muscat Daily reports. Talks on the agreement wrapped up in August. Oman’s Ambassador to India, Issa Saleh Abdullah Saleh Alshibani, told PTI that the agreement will be signed “very soon.” Oman wants to see bilateral trade diversify and include more services in the mix, he said.

India is also deepening security ties with Muscat. New Delhi is in talks with Oman to buy spare parts for its fleet of Jaguar deep-strike aircraft, Print reports. Oman has 20-24 retired Jaguar aircraft in storage — India is interested in buying them to use for spare parts for its aging fleet.

Driving the news: Oman is India’s third-largest export destination in the GCC, with bilateral trade at USD 10.61 bn in FY 2024-25, according to Indian Embassy data. The sultanate is also India’s oldest and closest defence partner in the region, with ties to all three branches of the Indian armed forces.

IN CONTEXT- Modi’s trip comes as India looks to deepen ties with the Arab world: There’s speculation in the Indian press that the PM could also stop in Jordan for talks on trade, investment.

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