{"id":1173,"date":"2026-06-02T12:17:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/?p=1173"},"modified":"2026-06-08T12:17:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T12:17:42","slug":"india-oman-cepa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/india-oman-cepa\/","title":{"rendered":"India-Oman CEPA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

India-Oman CEPA<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s\u00a0in the news?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • The\u00a0India-Oman<\/strong>\u00a0Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)<\/strong>\u00a0signed in 2025 has entered into force.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Key Provisions of CEPA<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • Under CEPA,\u00a0Oman<\/strong>\u00a0has offered\u00a0zero-duty access on 98% of its tariff lines<\/strong>, covering 99% of India\u2019s exports to Oman.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • India<\/strong>\u00a0is offering\u00a0tariff liberalization on 78% of its total tariff lines<\/strong>\u00a0which covers 95% of India\u2019s imports from Oman by value.\u00a0\u00a0\n
        \n
      • To safeguard its interest,\u00a0sensitive products\u00a0<\/strong>have been kept in the\u00a0exclusion category\u00a0<\/strong>by India without offering any concessions, especially agricultural products, gold and silver bullion,\u00a0jewellery, and other\u00a0labour-intensive\u00a0products.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • The deal also includes\u00a0several concessions<\/strong>\u00a0that are expected to\u00a0benefit\u00a0India\u2019s service sector<\/strong>.\u00a0\n
          \n
        • A key highlight is\u00a0enhanced mobility for Indian professionals.<\/strong>\u00a0For the first time,\u00a0Oman<\/strong>\u00a0has offered\u00a0wide-ranging commitments under Mode 4\u00a0<\/strong>(movement of skilled professionals).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \n

          Modes of supply of services:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • International trade in services<\/strong>\u00a0typically occurs in any of these four modes of supply:\u00a0\n
              \n
            • Cross border trade (Mode 1):<\/strong>\u00a0It is the supply of a service from the territory of one country into the territory of another country.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Consumption abroad (Mode 2):<\/strong>\u00a0It is the supply of a service in the territory of one country to the consumer of another country.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Commercial presence (Mode 3):\u00a0<\/strong>It is the supply of a service by a service supplier of one country, through commercial presence, in the territory of another country.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Presence of natural persons (Mode 4):<\/strong>\u00a0It is the supply of a service by a service supplier of one country, through the presence of natural persons of a country in the territory of another country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • The CEPA further provides for\u00a0100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by Indian companies in major services sectors in Oman through commercial presence<\/strong>, opening a wide avenue for India\u2019s services industry.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • The agreement will also\u00a0promote<\/strong>\u00a0cooperation in AYUSH, wellness, healthcare, and medical tourism.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                \n

                Oman:<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                • Oman is\u00a0located\u00a0on the\u00a0southeastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula<\/strong>, bordering the\u00a0Arabian Sea\u00a0<\/strong>and the\u00a0Gulf of Oman<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                    \n
                  • It borders the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0Persian Gulf.<\/strong>\u00a0Oman shares land borders with\u00a0Saudi Arabia<\/strong>, the\u00a0United Arab Emirates<\/strong>, and\u00a0Yemen<\/strong>, and it shares maritime borders with\u00a0Iran<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Pakistan<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Capital:\u00a0Muscat.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

                    Why does the pact matter?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                      \n
                    • Oman is India’s second-largest trading partner in the Gulf region\u00a0<\/strong>and is a\u00a0key gateway<\/strong>\u00a0for Indian goods and services<\/strong>\u00a0to the wider Middle East and Africa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • India\u2013Oman bilateral trade<\/strong>\u00a0stood at about\u00a0$11.18 billion<\/strong>\u00a0in 2025\u201326, with\u00a0India running a trade deficit<\/strong>\u00a0largely due to\u00a0energy and fertilizer imports.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Nearly\u00a07\u00a0lakh Indian nationals<\/strong>\u00a0live in Oman, and India receives around\u00a0$2 billion\u00a0in remittances annually<\/strong>\u00a0from the country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • This is India\u2019s\u00a0second CEPA with a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member<\/strong>\u00a0after the\u00a0United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreement<\/strong>\u00a0implemented in 2022.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                      \n

                      Gulf Cooperation Council:<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
                        \n
                      • GCC is a\u00a0regional, intergovernmental, political, and economic union<\/strong>\u00a0comprising\u00a0Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.<\/mark><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                        \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                          \n
                        • GCC was\u00a0established\u00a0in\u00a01981<\/strong>\u00a0in\u00a0Riyadh, Saudi Arabia<\/strong>\u00a0in view of their special relations, geographic proximity, similar political systems based on Islamic beliefs, joint\u00a0destiny\u00a0and common\u00a0objectives.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • The official language is\u00a0Arabic.\u00a0<\/strong>The Secretariat is located in\u00a0Riyadh.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
                            \n
                          • For\u00a0Oman<\/strong>, this is its\u00a0first bilateral trade agreement<\/strong>\u00a0since signing one with\u00a0the US in 2006.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                            India-Oman CEPA What\u2019s\u00a0in the news? Key Provisions of CEPA Modes of supply of services: Oman: Why does the pact matter? Gulf Cooperation Council:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1173"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1176,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173\/revisions\/1176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}