New Delhi, Dec. 18 -- India signed a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Oman on Thursday, adding another pillar to New Delhi's expanding trade and strategic engagement with the Gulf, following a similar deal with the United Arab Emirates.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which covers goods, services and investment, was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Muscat, which began on Wednesday.

The pact aims to ease tariff and regulatory barriers while strengthening India's long-term economic presence in West Asia. From the Indian side, the CEPA was approved by the Union cabinet on 12 December, while Oman's lower house of Parliament has also cleared the draft agreement.

As seen in the case of the...