MUSCAT, 26 December 2004 — The Sultanate of Oman is in favor of India becoming the permanent member of the UN Security, the Indian Embassy said here yesterday.
“Oman extended support for India’s permanent membership of the Security Council,” Manjiv Singh Puri, minister at the Indian Embassy, said while briefing reporters on Indian Foreign Minister K. Natwar Singh’s meeting with Sultan Qaboos and his Omani counterpart Yusuf ibn Alawi ibn Abdullah earlier in the day.
Oman is possibly the first Gulf state to voice its support for India’s campaign to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council — a move Pakistan opposes, even though the two nuclear rivals have apparently buried a bitter past to start a new chapter of good neighborliness.
Earlier Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said in a statement in New Delhi that the two countries will sign an extradition treaty during the minister’s visit, but didn’t give further details.
According to the state news agency, ONA, Oman supported the dialogue going on between India and Pakistan, hoping the process would continue in the larger interest of the region.
Puri said the Omani ruler, who was handed a written message from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by Natwar Singh, recalled Oman’s historical ties with India and hailed the role of the Indian community in Oman in strengthening these ties. The two countries are also celebrating 50 years of their diplomatic links and the commencement of production by the $1 billion Oman-India fertilizer factory in Sur next year, he said.
Puri said Oman welcomed the Indian interest in setting up joint ventures in Oman, especially in the Musandam Peninusla, during talks between Alawi and Singh.
“The matter will be dealt with in the strategic dialogue at the Secretary level and the ministerial joint committee meeting, both scheduled early next year,” he said.
He said the talks included issues of mutual interest and matters of concern in the region. “Both sides reaffirmed their common desire for peace and stability in the region.”
Singh will also visit the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain as part of the three-nation tour that will end on Dec. 30.
India wants to sign a free trade accord with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council because of its dependence on oil imports. About 3.5 million Indians work in the GCC, which comprises Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.
India imports nearly 70 percent of its annual oil requirements, depending primarily on Middle Eastern supplies.
The United Arab Emirates is India’s largest trading partner in the Gulf, followed by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
The Gulf states export mostly oil and gas to India, which sells them textiles, precious metals and food products.
Indian exports to the United Arab Emirates grew by a whopping 47.2 percent to hit $4.45 billion in 2003-2004, Press Trust of India news agency reported.
