India, Oman consider joint investments

Dec 15, 2007, 16:38 GMT

New Delhi, Dec 15 (IANS) India and Oman are discussing the establishment of a joint holding company, which will invest in various sectors in both countries.

The setting up of this company was a key priority during the visit of Oman's Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd Bin Mahmoud Al Said that ended Saturday.

In a joint press statement issued at the end of the visit, the concept of the joint holding company was described as an effort 'to elevate their relationship to a higher level of strategic partnership and to replicate similar success stories in other economic sectors'.

The statement, released by the ministry of external affairs, noted that the joint holding company would be set up with a corpus of $100 million in the initial stage, which will be contributed by major business houses and investment institutions in both sides.

'The corpus would form the seed money for joint investment in infrastructure and other projects in both countries,' it added. An Indian delegation will soon visit Oman to finalise details.

There is already a successful example of an Indo-Omani joint venture in Oman-India Fertiliser Company, a fertiliser production plant set up by Oman Oil Company, Krishak Bharti Cooperative Limited (Kribhco) and Indian Farmers Fertilisers Cooperative with an investment of $969 million.

With Indians forming the largest expatriate group in the sultanate, the Oman delegation, during its discussions with top leaders here, expressed appreciation for the role and contribution of the Indian community in the development of the country.

In turn, the Indian leaders appreciated the 'care and favourable environment provided by the Sultanate of Oman for the Indian community in Oman'.

However, a pact on manpower and labour agreement could not be signed as some lingering issues remained to be sorted out.

The visiting Omani leader, who had arrived in Delhi Dec 12, held delegation level talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday evening.

Earlier, he had called on President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan also met the Omani leader and held discussions with him.

Four agreements were signed during the visit, which will foster cooperation in the growth of small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurship and higher education.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India's Kribhco and the state-run Oman Oil Company was signed which will broaden cooperation in industrial sectors and in asset transfer, joint acquisition and joint development between the two companies.

Around 20 top business leaders and senior ministers accompanied the Omani leader to India, signalling the increasing interest in the Gulf country in enhancing trade and investment between the two sides.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service