India’s proposed free-trade agreement with Oman is set to take effect on 1 June, commerce minister Piyush Goyal announced on Monday, as New Delhi targets $1 trillion in combined goods and services exports this fiscal year, according to livemint.com.
The pact, finalised after months of negotiations, will eliminate or sharply cut duties on 80-85 % of traded items, officials familiar with the text told livemint.com. Goyal said the deal is ready for ratification and will be notified once Oman completes its domestic approval process, expected by the end of May. The two sides had initialled the agreement in February after a fast-track round led by commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal and his Omani counterpart Qais al-Yousef.
Oman is India’s third-largest export market in the Gulf after the UAE and Saudi Arabia, buying $3.8 billion worth of Indian goods in FY25, primarily refined fuels, chemicals and textiles, according to livemint.com. The FTA is expected to lift bilateral trade to $10 billion within three years, mirroring the 19 % surge India recorded with the UAE after a similar pact in 2022. For New Delhi, the deal also secures a strategic logistics hub at Duqm port, giving Indian exporters quicker access to East Africa and Europe while reducing dependence on congested Dubai-Jebel Ali.
Goyal told reporters that the first tariff cuts will apply from 1 June and an early-harvest list of 7,000 products will be published on the commerce ministry website within a week, according to livemint.com. The next milestone is a joint review scheduled for September to expand duty-free coverage to digital services and green hydrogen, sectors India is pitching as future growth engines.