After a gap of three years, India and Oman are set to hold a meeting of the Joint Military Cooperation Committee (JMMC) during the visit to New Delhi of Secretary General, Ministry of Defence of Oman, Mohammed Nasser Al Zaabi, from Sunday to Tuesday.
This would initiate a series of high-level defence engagements between the two countries next month, officials said.
Mr. Zaabi would be co-chairing the JMCC with Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, an official source said.
The JMCC is the highest forum of engagement between India and Oman in the field of defence that evaluates and provides guidance to the overall framework of defence exchanges between the two sides.
The JMCC was to meet annually, but could not be organised since 2018, when the meeting of the 9th JMCC was held in Oman, it has been learnt. Given the three-year gap, the 10th edition is expected to “comprehensively evaluate” the ongoing exchanges and “provide a road map for further strengthening the defence ties in the coming years.”
Mr. Zaabi is expected to call on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and in line with India’s emphasis on boosting exports, will get insights into the Indian defence manufacturing capabilities to explore possible opportunities for procurement and joint production.
High-profile engagements in Feb
His visit will be followed by a series of high-profile engagements in February that includes visits by Navy and Air Force Chiefs of Oman encompassing staff talks between the Indian Navy and the visiting Navy chief as well as a bilateral air force exercise in Jodhpur. The annual bilateral air force exercise this year will see the participation of over 150 personnel from Oman.
Visits of the naval and air force chiefs of Oman are taking place after five years and would enable a high-level re-engagement between the forces of two sides, officials noted.
While India’s defence engagement with the Gulf region has significantly expanded in the last few years, Oman remains India’s closest defence partner in the region. It is the only country in the region with which all the three services of India conduct regular bilateral exercises and staff talks. Defence exchanges between the two countries are guided by a framework MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), which was renewed in 2021.
As part of its anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Navy has deployed its P-8I long-range maritime surveillance aircraft for anti-piracy patrol sorties from Salalah inOman on few occasions, extending the reach and operational turnaround. Oman also actively participates in the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS).
In addition, as part of bilateral training cooperation, the Omani forces regularly attend training courses in India both at the professional as well as the higher command level. In return, Indian service personnel too attend Staff and Command courses conducted at the National Defence College in Oman.
