Oman - India Defence Cooperation

The visiting Minister Responsible for Defence, H.E. Mr. Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harib al Busaidi meeting the then Indian Minister for Defence, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, in New Delhi on September 26, 2018.

Oman-India Defence cooperation has emerged as a key pillar of the strategic partnership between the two countries. There have been regular high level visits between the Ministries of Defence. India’s Defence Minister visited Oman in May 2016 and Oman’s Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs visited India in September 2018. Over the past few years, there have been visits of Defence Secretary, CNS and CAS to Oman with reciprocal visits to India by all three Omani Service Commanders, Secretary General of Defence, etc. Constant and continuous senior leadership engagements have facilitated greater bonds of friendship. The Ministries of Defence of both countries review their relations annually under the aegis of Joint Military Cooperation Committee (JMCC) meeting. The last JMCC meeting took place in November 2018 in Muscat. Army,

Air Force and Navy undertake staff talks on a regular basis which has been the catalyst for new areas of cooperation. India and Oman conduct regular biennial bilateral exercises between all three services. The 3rd Army exercise ‘Al Najah’ was in March 2019 in Jabel Akdhar, Oman. Indian Air Force (IAF) MikoyanGurevich MiG-29UPG fighters locked horns with Royal Air Force Oman (RAFO) combat jets including F-16 and Eurofighter Typhoon jets during the bilateral Exercise Eastern Bridge-V. The joint air exercise was held from October 17-26, 2019, at RAFO Base Masirah.

The 13th edition of Naseem-AlBahr (Sea Breeze) 2019 Naval exercise between India and Oman will be conducted in December this year in Goa, The year will mark 26 years of Indian Navy-Royal Navy of Oman bilateral exercises that has been a biennial feature since 1993, Indian Navy ships along with two Royal Navy of Oman ships Al Rasikh, Khassab will sail to participate in the exercise. India has ancient maritime tradition and maritime interaction with Oman dates back to over 4000 years BC. Bilateral relations between both countries were formally established with signing of 1953 Indo-Oman Treaty of friendship, Navigation and Commerce. It was first between India and Arab country. Oman has been extending its support to Indian Navy’s anti-piracy missions and Indian Naval Ships are regularly welcomed by Oman for Over Seas Deployments. Oman held The IONS preparatory workshop on 13-16 October 2019 to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region and generate a flow of information between naval professionals that would lead to common understanding

and possibly cooperative solutions by providing an open and inclusive forum for discussion of regionally relevant maritime issues. A sailing vessel ‘Zeenat al Bihaar’ from the Royal Yachts participated with INS Tarangini and INS Sudarshini in the joint sailing voyage from Kochi to Muscat in November 2019. The joint sailing formed part of the celebrations commemorating the 10th anniversary of IONS. The Ships retraced the ancient maritime trade routes from the Malabar Coast to the Gulf. Indian Air Force and Indian Navy aircraft regularly utilize Omani Airports and Air bases for refueling and operational turnaround. First India-Oman Army to Army Staff talks was hosted by

Indian Army at New Delhi on 15 September 2019. The meeting was attended by four member military delegations from the Sultan Armed Forces to strengthening military cooperation and coordination. Indian Air Force (IAF) MikoyanGurevich MiG-29UPG fighters is locking horns with Royal Air Force Oman (RAFO) combat jets including F-16 and Eurofighter Typhoon jets during the bilateral Exercise Eastern Bridge-V. The joint air exercise was held from October 17-26, 2019, at RAFO Base Masirah.

Further signing of MoU on Defence Cooperation in December 2005 and subsequent establishment of oint Military Cooperation (JMC) in March 2006 had set foundation for increased defence cooperation. The naval cooperation between both countries since then has gradually increased in scope and scale.