Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with Sultan of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, at Bait Al Baraka, in Muscat, Oman. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal are expected to travel to Oman next week to sign a free trade agreement with that country, sources who are also part of the delegation have confirmed on Wednesday (December 10, 2025). The exact dates and the composition of the delegation will be confirmed after the Union Cabinet gives its approval.
India and Oman launched negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in November 2023. Following three rounds of negotiations, between November 2023 and March 2024, both sides reached an agreement on all aspects of the CEPA, including text and market access offers, the Department of Commerce said in a separate release.
A Cabinet proposal regarding the deal, submitted in March 2024, was deferred at the time, prompting further renegotiations. The fourth round was held in September 2024 and the fifth in January 13-14, 2025, both of which focused on revised offers.
According to the press note, both sides are now in the process of securing internal approvals for the final deal. However, according to sources, this is more of a formality, with the deal having been finalised and the signing set to happen soon.
“The Prime Minister and Commerce Minister are set to visit Oman next week, maybe on December 17-18, to sign the deal,” a member of the likely delegation told The Hindu. “The exact dates of the trip and composition of delegation will be finalised after the Cabinet gives its approval, which is a formality at this point.”
Speaking to reporters in Jaipur, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal confirmed that talks with Oman are in “their final stages” for a free trade agreement. He added that New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay is visiting New Delhi on Friday (December 12, 2025) for negotiation on an FTA.
“With them, too, our talks have reached the last stages,” Mr Goyal said.
On the FTA with the European Union, Mr Goyal said that, following the visit over the delegation from the EU over the last eight days and of Maroš Šefčovič, EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security over the last two days, the broad outline of the deal have now been finalised.
“We discussed in great detail, and he [Šefčovič] met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and the broad contours of an FTA are ready,” Mr. Goyal said. “I am confident that soon we will complete this as well.”
On talks with the U.S., and with an American negotiating team in India currently, Mr. Goyal simply said that “we are moving forward towards a Bilateral Trade Agreement”. The U.S. team is expected to be in India until December 12.
Published – December 10, 2025 06:07 pm IST
