With an aim to strengthen India’s global economic partnerships, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the India and Oman free trade agreement (FTA) is likely to come into force from June 1, 2026. The pact was signed in December 2025. The Omani delegation is on India visit to discuss ways to boost trade and investments. The agreement will provide duty-free access to 98% of India's exports, including textiles, agri, and leather goods in Oman. On the other hand, India will reduce tariffs on Omanese products such as dates, marbles and petrochemical items. Meanwhile, India-Oman bilateral trade stood at $10.61 billion in FY 2024-25, reflecting the expanding scale of the both economies.
Further, about his meeting with the Chilean foreign minister, Goyal said there are challenges given the different size of the economies and different scale of opportunities that both countries offer to each other. He noted that they are trying to bridge that gap through innovative solutions. He said ‘If we get a good deal around critical minerals and other important mining concessions then maybe there is some very good possibility that we should be able to finalise an FTA with Chile’.
India and Chile implemented a preferential trade agreement (PTA) in 2006 and are now negotiating to widen its scope for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The CEPA with Chile aims to build upon the existing PTA and seeks to encompass a broader range of sectors, including digital services, investment promotion and cooperation, MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), and critical minerals. The pact could help India access critical minerals, which are key inputs for electronics, auto, and solar sectors. The bilateral trade between India and Chile is modest. In 2024-25, India's exports to Chile declined 2.46% to just $1.15 billion. However, imports grew 72% to $2.60 billion.
