Bilateral fund should invest in Indian infrastructure projects: Oman

NEW DELHI - Oman wants the bilateral joint investment fund to develop infrastructure projects in India, Omani Foreign Minister Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah said here Wednesday.

“This (fund) is going to be investment both in Oman and India. But we would like very well to participate in infrastructure projects in India,” the visiting foreign minister said at a joint press conference with Indian external affairs minister S.M. Krishna here.

The India-Oman joint investment fund was set up in 2008 after a visit to the Gulf nation by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The fund with a seed capital of $100 million, with provision to be raised to $1.5 billion, will be based in Mumbai and jointly managed by State Bank of India and Oman State General Reserve Fund.

The Omani minister said the size of the fund could be raised even further depending on the size of the project.

Besides, on the political front, he said India had a legitimate interest in the security of the Middle-east region. “India has a role to play in the security of the region,” he said, adding that Indian interests related to the large diaspora of eight million, as well as its proximity.

“India has always played a role of peace,” he said.

Krishna said talks with his Omani counterpart were -ranging, especially on the economic and commercial fields “where our relationship has grown exponentially in the last few years”.

“Our bilateral trade now amounts to $4.5 billion and we share bilateral investments worth $7.53 billion stretching across 13 sectors. There are around 1,537 joint ventures between our two countries,” he said.