India & Middle East : Updates and Discussions
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PM’s visit: India, UAE trade deal is finalised - Times of India
India Business News: NEW DELHI: India and the UAE have completed negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement, with an announcement to be made during PM Narendra Modi’s vi.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
After access to key port: Delhi readies red carpet for Oman defence official
Moving to expand its footprint in the Indian Ocean region and counter Chinese influence, New Delhi is reinvigorating ties with Oman where it has secured access to the key port of Duqm for military use and logistical support.The government is laying out the red carpet for Oman’s top defence official Mohammed Nasser Al Zaabi who will be in India from January 30 to February 4 on an official visit. Al Zaabi, Secretary General of Ministry of Defence of the Sultanate of Oman, is the executive head of the Omani defence establishment as the Minister’s charge is held by Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Shihab.
Zaabi will be in New Delhi to co-chair the Joint Military Cooperation Committee (JMMC) with Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar. The JMCC, the highest forum of engagement between India and Oman in the field of defence, evaluates and provides guidance to the overall framework of defence exchanges between the two sides. It is expected to meet annually, but could not be organised after 2018 when the meeting of the 9th JMCC was held in Oman. Coming as it does after a hiatus of three years, the 10th JMCC is expected to comprehensively evaluate the ongoing defence exchanges and provide a roadmap for further strengthening defence ties in the coming years. India secured access to Duqm as part of its maritime strategy to counter Chinese influence and activities in the region. This was one of the key takeaways of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Oman in February 2018. Work is on to operationalise the access through a pact.
On the sidelines of the JMCC, Zaabi is expected to call on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and will also be briefed on the Indian defence production industry for possible procurement and joint production.
His visit will be followed by a series of defence engagements in February that will include back-to-back visits to India by the Chief of the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO), and the Chief of the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO), staff talks between Indian Navy and CRNO, and a bilateral Air Force exercise in Jodhpur.
Oman is the only country in the Gulf region with which all three services of the Indian armed forces conduct regular bilateral exercises and staff talks. Oman also provides critical operational support to Indian naval deployments in the Arabian sea for anti-piracy missions.
After access to key port: Delhi readies red carpet for Oman defence official
🔴 The government is laying out the red carpet for Oman’s top defence official Mohammed Nasser Al Zaabi who will be in India from January 30 to February 4 on an official visit.
indianexpress.com
India, Oman Mull Stepping Up Military Ties As Part Of Indian Outreach To The Gulf
Close on the heels of the 11th India–Oman Joint Military Cooperation Committee Meeting (JMCC) in New Delhi on January 31, the commander of the Royal Navy of Oman is in a goodwill visit to India to explore new areas of cooperation. Increased interaction with the Omani military is part of India’s outreach to West Asia.Oman is India’s oldest security partner in the Gulf. Armed forces of the two countries have been staging joint military exercises since 1993. Strategic ties with Oman give India a capacity to extend military reach and presence to the Gulf and key choke points in the sea lanes of communication which are critical to the world’s energy security.
Rear Admiral Saif Bin Nasser Bin Mohsin Al Rahbi, Commander of the Royal Navy of Oman (CRNO) discussed new areas of naval cooperation with the Indian Navy Chief, Admiral R Hari Kumar after receiving a guard of honour at the South Block lawns on February 14.
He is reported to have discussed defence procurements from India, repair and maintenance of platforms and increasing the number of training slots in Indian military academies for Omani personnel.
Rear Admiral Al Rahbi is also touring the Western Naval Headquarters in Mumbai, where he would be interacting with the naval commanders and visiting warships at the Naval Dockyard.
The two sides have been holding the biennial naval exercise Naseem Al Bahr since 1993. This exercise was last conducted in 2020 off Goa and the next edition is scheduled later this year. The Indian Navy sail training ship INS Sudarshini visited Muscat in December 2021.
Earlier on January 31, the visiting Secretary-General of Oman’s Ministry of Defence Dr Mohammad Bin Nasser Bin Ali Al-Zaabi co-chaired the 11th India-Oman JMCC Meeting with Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar in New Delhi in which the two sides discusses stepping up defence ties. The JMCC is the apex body for deciding the agenda for bilateral military cooperation.
“The two sides reviewed the progress made in military-to-military engagements, including joint exercises, industry cooperation and various ongoing infrastructure projects. It was decided to identify new avenues and examine areas of mutual interest for Joint Venture in order to enhance defence industry cooperation,” according to a statement released by the Ministry of Defence.
“Conduct of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercises involving the three services and enhancing the scope and complexities of the existing joint exercises were also discussed. Both the countries agreed to work together to combat the issue of drug trafficking prevalent in the North Arabian Sea,” the statement added. It was agreed to hold the next JMCC meeting in Oman.
The Omani Secretary-General also called on the three Service Chiefs, met with the CEOs of Indian Defence Industries and visited military training establishment and Cochin Shipyard, where he was briefed on the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant.
India, Oman Mull Stepping Up Military Ties As Part Of Indian Outreach To The Gulf
Visiting Omani Navy Chief discusses procurements, increase in training slots
India-UAE trade deal| First major trade pact under Modi govt set to boost jewellery, apparel exports
In what will be the first major trade deal implemented by the Modi government, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will officially sign a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on February 18. Negotiations on the deal have been completed in record time, having been officially launched in September 2021.On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to host a bilateral summit at which the trade agreement between the two countries will be signed by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and the UAE’s minister of economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the commerce department said on Thursday.
The UAE is India’s third trading partner globally, after the United States and China. Bilateral trade between India and the UAE was worth $43.3 billion as of 2020-21, and is spread across thousands of traded items. In 2019-20, the pre-pandemic year, trade between the two countries was estimated at $59 billion.
Moneycontrol had reported earlier that negotiations were almost complete and Modi was set to inaugurate the pact during his planned visit to the UAE and Kuwait in early January.
The upcoming deal will be an ‘early harvest’ component of a far more comprehensive trade and economic partnership deal in the future. An early harvest trade deal is one in which both parties sign off on a set of relatively easily achievable deliverables.
India-UAE trade
Big numbers
“However, it is expected to open up a greater volume of trade flows immediately between the nations and provide benefits to a wide segment of Indian exports. This pact has targeted specific goals such as tariff reduction and market access on select items while leaving more contentious items off the agenda,” a senior official said.
The deal plans to raise bilateral trade to $100 billion within the next five years. The official said India has pushed for easier export norms for textiles, electronics and, most importantly, gems and jewellery.
According to the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), the UAE accounts for 80 percent of India’s plain gold jewellery exports and 20 percent of studded jewellery exports. It is overall the third-largest export destination for all gems and jewellery shipments from India, while also being the second-largest source of imports.
But after the pandemic hit, jewellery trade with the UAE saw the sharpest fall (contracting 41.5 percent) among the top 10 gem and jewellery export destinations, according to GJEPC data. The industry now hopes the trade deal will lead to a leap in exports.
“The UAE is a gateway to the entire Middle East region and the proposed abolition of the 5 percent import duty in UAE would lead to increased prosperity on both sides of the Arabian Sea,” GJEPC chairman Colin Shah said.
India also aims to grow the volume of apparel exports. ”The UAE is a large retail market with players all across the value chain. This includes major western fashion chains, wholesale buyers from North Africa and all over the Middle East, as well as major resellers connected to the trade,” a senior functionary of the Apparel Export Promotion Council said.
Officials also said the deal would cement economic partnership with the UAE and provide the kind of clout and access that had been secured by China nearly a decade ago.
“The understanding is that despite being long-time allies, India has never been able to fully utilise the economic opportunities offered by the Persian Gulf nations to the extent that others such as the United States, United Kingdom and European Union have,” a senior diplomat stressed.
The official added that the government intends to use the Cabahar port in Iran as a shipment hub as it would mean a greatly reduced distance to ports in the UAE.
On its part, the UAE is eyeing the food, medical and financial sectors in India, apart from digital trade and space.
First major FTA
However, the deal with UAE will be the first major pact to be successfully negotiated and launched since the Modi government came to power in 2014.
Talks with the UAE were held to a tight deadline to complete the negotiations. Both sides had hoped to end the preliminary round of talks by the end of December, a deadline so tight that it was considered unprecedented. Both nations had publicly stated that they wished to sign a formal agreement in the early part of 2022.
India-UAE trade deal| First major trade pact under Modi govt set to boost jewellery, apparel exports
The ‘early harvest’ deal includes tariff reduction and market access for more exports, and will be followed by a comprehensive free trade agreement later. Announced in September 2021, negotiations on the deal were completed in record time.
India to set up first IIT abroad in UAE under newly inked trade deal
The government of India will be setting up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a part of the India-UAE trade deal that was signed on February 18. This will be the first time an IIT would be established outside of the country.India currently has 23 IITs, which are considered to be premiere institutes and offer a range of degrees starting from BTech to doctoral programmes. The top IITs in India are IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, and IIT Madras.
India to set up first IIT abroad in UAE under newly inked trade deal
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal held a bilateral meeting with a delegation from the UAE on February 18 and signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
India, Oman Navy Chiefs hold talks to explore new avenues of defence cooperation
Commander of the Royal Navy of Oman Rear Admiral Saif Bin Nasser Bin Mohsin Al Rahbi, who is on “a goodwill visit” to India, held discussions with his Indian counterpart Admiral R Hari Kumar on Monday “to explore avenues to further enhance cooperation between the Navies”.The Navy in a statement on Monday said that Rear Admiral Saif Bin Nasser Bin Mohsin Al Rahbi, Commander of the Royal Navy of Oman (CRNO) “is on a goodwill visit of to India” and his visit “aims to consolidate bilateral relations with Indian Navy, as also to explore new avenues for defence cooperation with India.”
“The first visit of the incumbent CRNO to India, reverberates the growing cooperation between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman, which include operational interactions, training and exchange of Subject Matter Experts. Both Navies have been participating in the biennial maritime exercise ‘Naseem Al Bahr’ since 1993. This exercise was last conducted in 2020, off Goa and the next edition is scheduled later this year.
INS Sudarshini visited Muscat in December 2021 and had embarked RNO Sea Riders for sea experience.” the Navy said.
Rear Admiral Al Rahbi is on a five-day goodwill visit to India from Sunday.
Rear Admiral Al Rahbi will also visit the Western Naval Command at Mumbai during his trip, and will visit Indian Naval Ships at the dockyard there, the Navy said.
The development comes two weeks after Oman’s Secretary General at the Ministry of Defence Mohammed Bin Nasser Bin Ali Al Zaabi had held the 11th India–Oman Joint Military Cooperation Committee Meeting (JMCC) on bilateral defence cooperation with Indian Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar.
India and Oman have very strong defence ties, and all three services have bilateral exchanges and exercises with Oman’s services.
Oman provides operational support to the Indian Navy for anti-piracy missions in the Arabian Sea. Also, India had got access to the Duqm port in Oman, strengthening India’s capability and maritime strategy in the Indian Ocean Region, especially against China’s aggressive advance in the region.
On January 31, Zaabi had also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and leaders of India’s defence industry.
India, Oman Navy Chiefs hold talks to explore new avenues of defence cooperation
India and Oman have very strong defence ties, and all three services have bilateral exchanges and exercises with Oman’s services.
indianexpress.com
Explained | Why is the India-UAE partnership deal a game changer for trade?
The agreement comes with several new provisions to maximise India’s exports while also adding new sectors such as digital trade and intellectual property rights. Commerce department officials are hopeful the first of India’s ‘new-age FTAs’ will set the bar high for all trade deals to follow.
Lebanon plans tender for Indian wheat, minister says - Times of India
India Business News: BEIRUT: Lebanon is planning a tender to import 50,000 tonnes of wheat from India but the timing depends on the Lebanese central bank opening the neces.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
In a first, India opens up central govt procurement market to UAE
In a major shift in its trade policy stance, India has opened up its central government procurement market to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the free trade agreement (FTA) signed last month.This will give national treatment status to UAE companies, on a par with Indian companies, while bidding for central government tenders. “The (two) parties recognise the importance of government procurement in trade relations and set as their objective the effective, reciprocal and gradual opening of their government procurement markets, in order to maximise, inter alia, competitive
In a first, India opens up central govt procurement market to UAE
Experts say this may open a Pandora's box with demand for similar commitment
Although Turkey isn't in the ME, it comes close enough & there wasn't a suitable thread to locate this in.
Tata | Saudi Prince: Ambani to Tatas, Akshay Kumar to SRK– Saudi Prince Bin Salman’s aide flies in to India to meet biz & film royalty
Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed, hand picked by 35-year old Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman or MBS, to create and run his countrys first Ministry of Culture, was in Mumbai this weekend for a below the radar trip, meeting some of the biggest names of corporate India and the film...