MUSCAT: Dr. S. Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister received His Excellency Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi, Oman’s Foreign Minister during the First India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Riyadh on Monday.

“A warm meeting with FM @badralbusaidi of Oman in Riyadh today. Focused on further strengthening of our Strategic Partnership,” Jaishankar wrote on X (previously Twitter) soon after the meeting.

“India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, in areas including political, trade & investment, energy cooperation, cultural and people – to – people ties. The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors,” the MEA said in a statement.