Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harib Al Busadi, Omani Defence Minister is on an official visit to India on September 27, 2018. He is accompanied by Lt. Gen Ahmed bin Harith Al Nabhani, Chief of Staff of the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF), Indian ambassador appointed to the Sultanate and number of SAF senior officers heading to India on an invitation from Nirmala Sitharaman, Indian Defence Minister.
The meeting will be focused on strengthening strategic partnership with Oman with measures including early operationalization of Duqm port as Indo- Pacific Strategy. Further, the minister will focus on how the navy and training of Omanese military officers in India
The visit will help further Oman’s nascent space programme and expansion of bilateral military exercises, said officials, like Oman, is putting in place its space agency and seeking India’s expertise to enhance skills in that sector. The two sides are also looking to put in place a mechanism for ensuring rule of law in the western part of the Indian Ocean region, they said.
With his last visit to Muscat (Oman), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had signed a pact between the two countries, which will enable the Indian Navy to use the facilities of Duqm port in Oman, giving India a foothold in its extended neighborhood.
An Indo-Omani joint statement issued at the end of Modi’s visit reflected growing maritime cooperation. “The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation to strengthen maritime security in the Gulf and the Indian Ocean regions, vital for the security and prosperity of both countries,” it said.