India-Oman Relations Explained

Across the Arabian Sea, a short monsoon voyage has connected the western coast of India with the shores of southeastern Arabia for thousands of years. India-Oman relations are among the oldest and most stable bilateral ties in West Asia, built on seafaring, commerce, migration and a shared tradition of pragmatic diplomacy. Today the Sultanate of Oman is one of India’s closest Gulf partners, a trusted neighbour across the sea and a country that offers access to the strategic Indian Ocean through the deep-water port of Duqm.

The partnership has a distinct character. Oman follows a policy of friendship with all and enmity with none, serves as a quiet mediator in a turbulent region, and values its connections with India as a stabilising factor. For India, Oman offers energy supplies, a large and welcoming community of Indian residents, security cooperation in the western Indian Ocean and a bridge to the wider Gulf. This guide explains how the relationship grew and what makes it strategically important.

Quick Facts

Ancient Maritime and Trade Links

Archaeological and textual evidence suggests that the people of the Indus Valley and the Arabian peninsula traded with one another in the Bronze Age. Mesopotamian records speak of a land called Magan, often identified with the area that is now Oman, as a source of copper, and Indus artefacts have been found in Omani sites. Later, as navigators learned to ride the monsoon winds, dhows carried cotton textiles, spices, timber and rice from the Malabar and Gujarat coasts to Omani ports, and returned with dates, frankincense, horses, pearls and dried fish.

Trading communities

Merchant families from Kutch, Gujarat and Sindh settled in Muscat and Muttrah from at least the eighteenth century. Over time they became integral to the commercial life of the Sultanate. Some business houses operating in Oman today can trace their roots in the country across several generations. Indian currency was widely used in the Gulf region, and the Gulf rupee issued by the Reserve Bank of India served several territories of the region until the 1960s.

Historical Ties and the Gwadar Connection

The political history of Oman and India was intertwined in the British era. Through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman had close treaty relations with the British Indian government, and Muscat was administratively linked with Indian affairs. Indian traders, bankers and interpreters worked in the Omani court and port.

A striking episode is the story of Gwadar, a port on the coast of what is now Balochistan in Pakistan. It was given to a ruler of Muscat in the late eighteenth century and stayed under Omani control for about two centuries, until the Sultanate transferred it to Pakistan in 1958. The episode is a reminder of how closely the two shores of the Arabian Sea were tied.

Formal diplomatic relations between independent India and Oman were established in 1955, when India opened a consulate in Muscat. It was upgraded to an embassy in 1971, following the accession of Sultan Qaboos bin Said in 1970.

Sultan Qaboos and the Personal Dimension

Few foreign leaders have had as personal a connection with India as Sultan Qaboos, who ruled Oman from 1970 until his death in January 2020. He is widely reported to have had part of his education in India, including time in Pune, and one of his teachers was Shankar Dayal Sharma, who later became President of India. Qaboos often referred to this experience warmly and was a guest of honour on India’s Republic Day in 1999.

His reign transformed Oman into a modern state and made it a stable voice of moderation. In recognition of his contribution to harmony and friendship with India, he was named for the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2019, announced in 2021. His successor, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, has continued the policy of close engagement with India, including through high-level visits and a stress on economic diversification under the national development programme known as Oman Vision 2040.

Strategic and Defence Cooperation

Defence ties between the two countries have deepened steadily since a memorandum on defence cooperation was signed in 2005. A Joint Military Cooperation Committee oversees exchanges, training, staff talks and visits by ships and aircraft. Regular exercises now take place between the armies, navies and air forces of the two countries.

The exercise series

• Naseem Al Bahr: a bilateral naval exercise that began in the 1990s. The title is Arabic for sea breeze. It involves drills at sea, search and rescue, communications and anti-piracy tactics.
• Al Najah: an army exercise that focuses on counter-terrorism and joint operations in desert and mountainous conditions.
• Eastern Bridge: an air force exercise that builds interoperability between the two air arms.

The two countries also cooperate on anti-piracy patrols near the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Indian naval vessels regularly call at Omani ports, including Muscat, Salalah and Duqm. The two sides also share maritime domain awareness, hydrography and training for officers in each other’s institutions.

Duqm: A Strategic Port on the Arabian Sea

Duqm lies on Oman’s southeastern coast, facing the Arabian Sea and outside the narrow Strait of Hormuz. This position makes it valuable. It is a deep-water port with a large dry dock, a developing industrial zone and an airport, planned as the centrepiece of Oman’s economic diversification efforts.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Muscat in February 2018, India and Oman signed an agreement that gave Indian naval vessels access to Duqm for logistics and support, including a dry dock facility. This extends the reach of the Indian Navy in the western Indian Ocean and supports operations such as anti-piracy missions and humanitarian relief. The arrangement is commercial and logistical rather than a base, and Oman maintains its policy of not hosting foreign bases that would compromise its neutrality.

Why Duqm matters for India

• It supports ships on long deployments in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden.
• It offers an alternative to ports inside the Gulf where political tensions can affect shipping.
• It connects with investment opportunities in the special economic zone, including refining, logistics and shipbuilding.
• It gives India a partner in a region where other powers are also seeking access.

Energy Cooperation and Joint Ventures

Oman is not among India’s largest crude suppliers, but it is an important energy partner in other ways. A long-term agreement for liquefied natural gas, which began in the early 2000s, supplies Oman LNG to Indian importers. Gas from Oman reaches India by sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which gives it strategic security.

Joint ventures

• OMIFCO: the Oman India Fertiliser Company, a joint venture between Indian cooperatives and an Omani state energy firm, operates a large urea plant at Sur. It began production in the mid-2000s, and its output is supplied to Indian farmers under a long-term offtake arrangement, thereby supporting food security.
• Duqm refinery: an Indian public-sector refiner holds a share in a refinery at Duqm along with an Omani partner, adding to downstream investment links.
• Strategic petroleum storage and trade: India and Gulf producers have discussed storage arrangements and long-term supply contracts, and Oman is a candidate for such cooperation.

Trade, Investment and Economic Partnership

Trade between India and Oman has historically been significant, and India is among Oman’s leading trading partners. India sells cereals, rice, textiles, machinery, vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and engineering goods, and buys crude oil, LNG, fertilisers, chemicals and metals. A bilateral Joint Commission and a Joint Business Council work to promote trade.

The two countries have a bilateral investment treaty history and a double taxation avoidance agreement. A joint investment fund, set up by an Indian public-sector bank and an Omani sovereign fund around 2010, finances projects in India. More recently, the focus has shifted to a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to reduce tariffs, ease services trade and facilitate investment. Both sides see it as a way to link Indian manufacturing and services with Omani logistics and free zones.

Priority sectors

• Ports, logistics and shipbuilding.
• Renewable energy, including green hydrogen and solar power.
• Food processing and agriculture.
• Pharmaceuticals, health care and education.
• Information technology and financial technology.

The Indian Community in Oman

People of Indian origin are among the largest expatriate communities in Oman and contribute to almost every sector, including health care, construction, trade, teaching, banking and engineering. Their ties with Oman are long-standing. Many Gujarati and Kutchi families have been there for generations, and some have received Omani citizenship in the past.

The community’s institutions include Indian schools that follow the Central Board of Secondary Education curriculum, such as the Indian School Muscat, set up in the 1970s and now part of a larger network across the Sultanate. Cultural associations, Indian temples, a gurdwara and churches reflect religious freedom and tolerance. The Shiva temple in Muttrah and the Krishna temple in Muscat are well-known examples, and the Omani government has historically been welcoming to Indian worshippers.

Remittances sent by Indian workers support families in states such as Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In times of crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Omani authorities and the Indian mission coordinated on health, evacuation and vaccine supplies.

Oman’s Role in West Asia and India’s Balancing Act

West Asia is a region of rivalry, and India maintains good relations with many of its states, including the Gulf monarchies, Iran, Israel and others. Oman is an especially valuable partner in this balancing act. It has good relations with Iran and with the Gulf Cooperation Council states, has quietly facilitated dialogue between rivals, and has hosted diplomatic contacts in the past. That policy of neutrality makes Oman a reliable interlocutor.

Points of alignment

• Both countries favour peaceful settlement of disputes and freedom of navigation.
• Both want stable shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea.
• Both view counter-terrorism and anti-piracy cooperation as shared priorities.
• Both favour regional connectivity, including transport links that connect South Asia, the Gulf and Central Asia, such as projects at Iran’s Chabahar port.

India’s growing ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council, including free-trade negotiations with the bloc, add an additional layer. Oman has often been a facilitator of such engagement.

Culture, Education and Soft Power

Cultural links are visible in food, language and architecture. Many Omani families have Indian ancestry, and some Omani dishes and sweets, such as halwa, are thought to have been influenced by South Asian cuisine. Words from Hindi and Urdu are used in colloquial speech in some parts of the country, and Malayalam, Gujarati and Hindi are heard daily in markets.

India provides scholarships and training slots to Omani students and officials through its technical and economic cooperation programmes. Several Omani professionals, including military officers, diplomats and doctors, have studied in India. Yoga, Bollywood films, Indian cricket and festivals such as Diwali and Eid celebrations are shared occasions that further ties. Indian Cultural Centre events and the observance of the International Day of Yoga are held annually in Muscat.

Challenges and Future Prospects

Like all partnerships, this one faces challenges. Oman is working to diversify its economy away from oil, which may give rise to competition in some sectors as well as opportunities. Trade is not yet at its potential, and rules on employment for expatriates, known as Omanisation, may affect the Indian workforce. Strategic competition among major powers in the Indian Ocean also requires careful balancing.

The future agenda is broad and promising: finalising and operationalising the economic partnership agreement, expanding defence exchanges, using Duqm for shipbuilding and repair, working together on green hydrogen, digital payments, and fostering student and professional mobility. India and Oman also intend to deepen cooperation on maritime security and the blue economy.

Conclusion

India-Oman relations show how geography, commerce and diplomacy can create a lasting friendship. Centuries of dhow trade, the presence of Indian communities, personal bonds between leaders and mutual interest in a stable Arabian Sea all strengthen the link. The Duqm arrangement, the Naseem Al Bahr exercise, joint energy ventures and the economic partnership agenda represent a modern chapter in an old story. This content was last reviewed on 4 October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did India and Oman establish diplomatic relations?

Formal relations were established in 1955, when India opened a consulate in Muscat. The mission was upgraded to an embassy in 1971. Trade and cultural links between the two shores of the Arabian Sea, however, date back thousands of years.

What is the Naseem Al Bahr exercise?

Naseem Al Bahr, meaning sea breeze in Arabic, is a bilateral naval exercise between the Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman. It began in the 1990s and covers maritime drills, search and rescue, anti-piracy operations and communication procedures.

Why is the Duqm port important for India?

Duqm is a deep-water port on Oman’s Arabian Sea coast, outside the Strait of Hormuz. Under an arrangement signed in 2018, Indian naval ships can use it for logistics and dry-dock support, which helps in long deployments and anti-piracy missions in the western Indian Ocean.

How does India benefit from Oman in energy?

India imports liquefied natural gas from Oman under long-term arrangements, and the OMIFCO fertiliser plant at Sur supplies urea to Indian farmers. An Indian refiner is also a partner in a refinery at Duqm, which makes energy a cornerstone of the relationship.

How large is the Indian community in Oman?

People of Indian origin form one of the largest expatriate communities in Oman and work in health care, trade, construction, education and banking. Some families have lived in Oman for generations, especially those from Gujarat and Kutch, and Indian schools and temples operate in the country.

What is Oman’s role in India’s West Asia policy?

Oman maintains friendly ties with all regional players and has often acted as a quiet mediator. This makes it a stable partner for India, which wants peaceful and secure shipping lanes in the Gulf and Arabian Sea and balanced relations with all countries in the region.

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