Muscat/New Delhi, Jan 30 (UNI) The Sultanate of Oman and India are set to forge closer defense ties with the holding of the Joint Military Cooperation Committee (JMCC) in New Delhi from January 31 to February 1. Mohammed Nasser Al Zaabi, Secretary General at the Ministry of Defence, is travelling to Delhi to co-chair the 10th meeting of the Joint Military Cooperation Committee (JMMC) with Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar. Oman’s top defence official, Al Zaabi left Muscat on Sunday for India, to lead the Omani side at the talks. The Secretary General is accompanied by a military delegation comprising of senior officers from the Ministry of Defence and the Sultan’s Armed Forces. Al Zaabi was seen off at A’Seeb Air Base by Air Vice Marshal Khamis Hammad Sultan Al Ghafri, Commander of the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO), Ambassador of India to Oman Amit Narang and seniors Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces officers. The visit of Oman’s top defence official is significant as in 2018 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Muscat, the two sides signed an agreement giving the Indian Navy access to facilities at Oman’s Duqm port. Oman is India’s oldest strategic partner in the Gulf region and a key ally in the Indo-Pacific region and eastern and southern Africa. India had also signed a maritime transport agreement in December 2019 during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to the Oman. It was the first such agreement that India had signed with any Gulf nation. Access to the Duqm port serves as India’s gateway to the wider West and East Africa. The Duqm Port is also designated as the largest deep-sea port in the Indian Ocean. The agreement includes provision of facilities for Indian military vessels to visit Duqm Port in terms of service and dry dock use. India and Oman had signed eight agreements during PM Modi’s visit to Oman on February 2018 to expand cooperation in different sectors including defence and tourism. The Sultanate of Oman is a strategic partner of India and an important interlocutor at Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Arab League and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) fora. When the late Sultan Qaboos, long time ruler of Oman and one of the architects of close India-Oman bilateral relations passed away in January 2020, the Government of India announced national mourning for one day on 13 January 2020 in his honor. The Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 was conferred on late Sultan Qaboos in March 2021, in recognition of his leadership in strengthening the ties between India & Oman and his efforts to promote peace in the Gulf region. Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik was appointed the Sultan of Oman on 11 January 2020. He is the cousin brother of late Sultan Qaboos.
