The areas of interest include bio fuel, bio diesel, medicinal plants etc
India and Oman will work together in certain areas like sustainability scientific harnessing of resources under a Programme of Cooperation (POC) in the fields of science and technology.
The areas of cooperation identified based on the POC for the period 2022 – 2025 are medicinal plants and processing, real-time air quality monitoring, development of an electronic platform for knowledge sharing in the field of genetic resources, technical expertise for SMEs in the field of sustainability (Eco-Innovate) Accelerator, plastic bio-fuel, and bio-diesel research, software development for graduate programmes – linking industry with academia, blockchain and FinTech solutions, training programmes – Big-data, coding and testing, STEM teaching and other areas of S&T cooperation added by mutual consent.
The POC document was signed by the Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), and Omani Foreign Secretary, on behalf of the Government of the Sultanate of Oman during the bilateral meeting between Dr S Jaishankar, Union Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India and Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, Foreign Minister of Oman.
The Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science & Technology, on behalf of Government of the Republic of India and the Office of Science, Knowledge & Technology Transfer, Foreign Ministry, on behalf of the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, will supervise, coordinate and implement the POC for India and Oman, respectively.
Under the agreement, both countries will support joint scientific projects based on mutual interest, developed jointly by the Indian and Omani institutions. They will encourage the exchange of scientists, researchers, experts, and specialists for the implementation of selected joint projects aimed at developing applicable technology. This will lead to the dissemination of research results and establishing contacts with the industry for the follow-up of research and development work. The countries will also hold at least one workshop each year – alternatively in India and Oman during the 2022 – 2025 period in mutually acceptable areas.
