India-Oman trade to cross $2b this year

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DUBAI, Aug 6 (PTI): Non-oil trade between India and Oman is expected to cross USD 2 billion this year, according to Indian Ambassador to Oman Anil Wadhwa.

Addressing the third meeting of the recently launched India-Oman Business Forum (IOBF), he said non-oil bilateral trade in the first quarter of 2008 registered an impressive growth of 35-40 per cent and is poised to cross USD 2 billion by the year-end.

The total trade during 2007, including Omani LNG exports, stood at USD 1.8 billion, up by 98 per cent as compared to the previous year.

Wadhwa underscored the coincidence that infrastructure, real estate and construction sectors had been a major engine of economic growth in both India and Oman.

The IOBF is an informal association comprising Indian and Omani business leaders. The forum coincided with the launch of an India-centric real estate fund by Cordea Nichani, a joint venture of Cordea Savills LLP and Nichani Holdings LLC.