India second-best market for Oman`s non-oil exports

Dubai, Dec 22 (PTI) Trade ties between India and Oman
have grown exponentially in the last five years and bilateral
trade between the two sides touched USD 4.5 billion between
April, 2009, to March, 2010, a senior Indian diplomat has
said.
"India is the second-best market destination for Oman's
non-oil exports, while India is fourth largest destination of
re-export and also the fourth largest source of imports for
Oman. Growth in bilateral commercial relations has brought the
two countries even closer and today it is estimated that 1,537
India-Oman joint ventures with an investment of USD 7.5
billion are in place," Anil Wadhwa, India's Ambassador to
Oman, said.
Wadhwa was addressing a seminar on the opportunities of
doing business with India and bilateral economic and
commercial relations between the two countries.
"These commercial engagements and historical relations
have made Oman an admirable second home for more than 573,000
Indians. Our large expatriate workforce serves as a bridge
between India and Oman, contributing to wealth and prosperity
for both countries," the Times of Oman quoted him as saying.
The Indo-Oman business opportunities seminar highlighted
the key sectors offering investment opportunities, namely
engineering, pharmaceuticals, food processing, construction
and real estate, drugs and agricultural products, education
and healthcare.
Emphasising on the importance of small and medium-scale
industries, Wadhwa said, "Small business enterprises play a
very important role in providing job opportunities. These
enterprises usually operate in the service, trade,
agri-business and manufacturing sectors. They include a wide
variety of firms such as village handicraft-makers, small
machine shops and computer software firms that possess a wide
range of sophistication and skills."
"In business, small and medium-scale enterprises
represent an important source of innovation. In society, they
are an important source of employment," he added.
The Indo-Oman business opportunities seminar was the
first of four seminars being organised by the Embassy of India
over the next few months, which aim to strengthen business
ties between the two countries. PTI