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, at the palace of Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq by Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and his counterpart Qais Al Yousef.

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 ...