Addressing a meeting of Omani officers from Foreign, Defence, Education and Tourism departments at the Omani Diplomatic Institute yesterday, Indian Ambassador to Oman, Anil Wadhwa said, "The Gulf is a close neighbour of India and India's contacts and links with the Arab World span several centuries leaving an indelible imprint on India's history, culture and civilisation."
The Gulf, which has emerged as a major trading partner for India, supplies a major portion of India's oil and gas requirements. The 4.5 million-strong Indian community in the region and the holy places of Islam add to this relationship. Wadhwa commended the contribution of the Indian community in promoting cultural, education and bilateral economic relations with Oman have been other pillars in this partnership.
"Indians have a considerable strength in IT, education, health and other sectors in the Gulf and energy cooperation as well as the security paradigm with the Gulf are important in this context", he said.
Speaking about India's plan to set up joint ventures with Gulf nations in energy-based sectors, Wadhwa said "India has bid for oil blocks in Oman, Yemen, and Qatar and efforts are on to set up joint ventures in downstream petrochemical, fertiliser and energy intensive industries in the Gulf and in India."
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More than 100 Indian companies are functioning in Oman and around 30 Omani firms have a presence in India.