The past decade has seen India become a significant trading partner for Oman, with bilateral trade rising from $200m at the start of the decade to almost $2.5bn last year. The year 2010 will see those trade relations become more important, as Oman becomes the first foreign country to establish a joint fund to invest in India.
The India Oman Joint Investment Fund (IOJIF) was initially established by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2008 between Oman's sovereign wealth fund, the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF), and the State Bank of India, India's largest commercial bank. Following round-table talks between the two countries in February however, it was revealed that Oman's minister of national economy, Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki.