Oman, India strengthen ties with new book celebrating shared history
Muscat: India's External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi jointly released a book titled Mandvi to Muscat: Indian Community and the Shared History of India and Oman. The launch took place on the sidelines of the 8th Indian Ocean Conference, held in Muscat.
The book highlights the deep-rooted historical and cultural ties between India and Oman, tracing the journey of the Indian community from Mandvi in Gujarat to Muscat and beyond. It explores the contributions of the Indian diaspora to Omani society and trade, reinforcing the strong people-to-people connections that have shaped bilateral relations over the years. The book is published by Muscat Media Group.
Dr. Jaishankar described his meeting with Sayyid Badr Albusaidi as a productive discussion on key areas of cooperation between the two nations. Sharing his thoughts on social media platform X, he stated:
"Delighted to meet FM @badralbusaidi of Oman this morning. Appreciate his personal efforts in successfully hosting the 8th Indian Ocean Conference. Held wide-ranging discussions on our cooperation in trade, investment, and energy security. So glad we could jointly release the logo celebrating the 70th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. Also jointly released a book 'Mandvi to Muscat: Indian Community and the Shared History of India and Oman'.'
In addition to the book release, the ministers also unveiled the official logo marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Oman, celebrating seven decades of strong bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, and energy security.
Dr. Jaishankar, who also addressed the inaugural session of the Indian Ocean Conference, underscored India's commitment to fostering maritime partnerships in the region. He highlighted India's role in promoting connectivity, ensuring maritime security, and supporting regional stability through various initiatives, including the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC) and partnerships in naval security.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
an hour ago
- Observer
Opinion- Strengthening the MSX is a national imperative
The Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) is working to strengthen the institution's activities to position it among the region's financial markets in the coming period and to attract more investments to the Omani capital market. Recently, the MSX, in cooperation with the Gulf Capital Markets Association (GCMA), hosted a financial conference attended by several prominent figures in the financial and investment sectors. The conference focused on discussing the most prominent challenges and opportunities facing the region's financial markets in light of current economic and technological changes, and ways to develop a more efficient and attractive investment environment. The goal of this activity was to enhance the position of the Omani capital market, making it an advanced financial center, and to provide an integrated investment environment in line with international best practices. The question raised in this regard is related to the causes required to make the Muscat Stock Exchange an attractive market for domestic and foreign investments, and to understand the challenges facing the market at this stage. There are several factors that can be worked on to improve the stock market's operations and make it more attractive, including diversifying investment instruments and developing and expanding trading mechanisms and securities, such as providing investment funds and new financial instruments to increase diversity and attract a larger segment of investors. It is also crucial to enhance transparency and corporate governance standards and implement international standards to ensure the protection of investor rights and reduce risks. Furthermore, it is important to improve the systems and technologies used in trading to provide a faster and safer environment, while relying on financial technology (FinTech), facilitating procedures, reducing bureaucracy, and improving registration and approval procedures to make the market more flexible and responsive to investor demands. Finally, it is important to raise awareness about investment opportunities and the importance of sustainability and social responsibility to attract investors who focus on these standards. In addition, it is important to encourage foreign direct investment, issue legislation that encourages foreign investors, and provide incentives and facilitation for market entry. The Omani stock market faces several challenges, including a lack of liquidity and weak trading volume, which reduces its attractiveness and limits investors' ability to enter and exit easily. It also relies heavily on changes occurring in the oil and energy sector, making the market vulnerable to global economic fluctuations. Some believe there is a need to further improve governance and disclosure standards, increase investor confidence, and close legislative gaps that could lead to uncertainty or reduce investment incentives. They also believe there is a need to increase the number of financial institutions and related services to provide adequate investment support tools and mechanisms. It is also important to enhance financial literacy and raise awareness of the importance of long-term investment and sustainability. The market must have a comprehensive strategic vision focused on diversifying the economy and achieving political and regulatory stability to attract more investment. In order to enhance the daily buying and selling activity in the Omani stock market and increase trading volume, there are several factors and methods that can be developed and improved, the most important of which are increasing market liquidity, improving the market's ability to provide diverse and attractive financial instruments, in addition to encouraging investors to submit their trades by offering incentive programmes, especially for individual investors that can increases investors' ability to execute transactions quickly and without delay.
Muscat Daily
2 hours ago
- Muscat Daily
MTCIT invites EOI to develop office software locally in Oman
By OUR CORRESPONDENT Muscat – In an effort to enhance digital sovereignty and support technology localisation, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) has invited expressions of interest (EOI) from local companies and investors to develop open-source office software. The ministry's Internal Investment Committee has called on Omani firms with expertise in software development to propose solutions for word processing, presentations and spreadsheets based on open-source platforms. The aim is to deploy these applications across government and institutional settings, meeting standard office software requirements. MTCIT said the government plans to sign a licensing agreement with the selected developer for a fixed term, as part of wider national efforts to build local technological capabilities and reduce reliance on foreign proprietary systems. Interested firms must submit a formal letter expressing their interest, along with a preliminary operational model of the proposed solution, company profile, commercial registration and valid business licence. A preliminary economic feasibility study and documents demonstrating experience and technical capability are also required. All submissions must be in PDF format and emailed to [email protected]. Submission deadline is July 20.
Observer
3 hours ago
- Observer
Skilful negotiation is the need of the hour
Every student who has ever attended a mock United Nations knows this – negotiations are never zero-sum games with all or nothing gains and losses. As the word suggests, negotiation itself means to talk and arrive at the best possible outcome for the parties involved. In today's uncertain time of international and regional conflicts, negotiations are the need of the hour. The word 'negotiate' originates from the Latin word 'negotiari', meaning "to do business or trade', although the act of negotiation goes further back than its Latin roots. According to researcher John Graham, humans used 'collective imaginations and their long-term relationships to survive and develop even better ways to live'. An important early text on negotiation is the famous treatise 'The Art of War' by the Chinese Sun Tzu. In it, the skills of understanding the opposition, the art of listening, building rapport, and reaching a compromise are seen to be essential when interacting at a negotiating table. Later works of the Indian strategist Chanakya and the Italian Machiavelli similarly emphasised prioritising one's state above all, and maintaining open information corridors throughout any confrontation. In the 20th century, businesses have focused on conducting negotiations to get a better economic or trade deal. The impactful book 'Never Split the Difference' by Chris Voss outlines the various stages of negotiations and comments on important points of 'identifying the black swan' and 'creating the illusion of control' as central to this powerful conversation. In the geostrategic world, negotiation is key to sustaining relationships between nation-states. There are many historical examples where the right people have signed off on the right deal and saved the suffering of a mass of humanity. These include the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which re-created the map of Europe, and the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognised the United States. The Korean Armistice of 1953 effectively ended the Korean War, and the Taif Agreement of 1989 united competing Lebanese factions. All of these agreements followed intense negotiations between warring parties but eventually introduced a peaceful era, however marred by sporadic violence. According to those in the business of political negotiations, there are crucial factors to consider before finalising a political treaty. Dr Kastner, a professor of international law, suggests that four factors are central to successful negotiation: having clear stakeholders, a trusted mediator, and identifying the right time when all parties concerned are ready. The fourth criterion is the most important. It clarifies that negotiators need to understand the concept of the peace to which they are aiming. Peace could be seen in different ways by all parties. While most of us understand it as the end of conflict, this is rarely the case. Most often, negotiations point to potential peace in the long run, but they set the stage for it. With Oman as a central negotiator in the current regional conflict, the complexities of negotiations need to be understood by even the layperson, so that the aspiration for peace is mutually understood by all stakeholders, which includes everybody who is impacted by regional political strife. Sandhya Rao Mehta The writer is an Associate Professor, Sultan Qaboos University
