Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks with Oman Deputy Prime Minister HH Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmood Al-Said on deepening the relationship between the two countries in the fields of energy, trade and investment, food security, defence and mining.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister met Oman’s leading business executives and urged them to invest in India. Modi highlighted the reform measures his government had taken to improve the business environment in India.

He then visited a Shiva temple that the merchant community from Gujarat had built 125 years back in the capital city Muscat. He spoke to the members of the temple’s management committee.

On Sunday, Modi held talks with Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said of Oman as the two countries signed eight agreements, including pacts on cooperation on defence, health and tourism. “Sultan Qaboos appreciated the contribution of honest and hard working Indian nationals in the development of Oman,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

The prime minister had addressed the Indian diaspora at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat on Sunday. The ties between the two countries, he pointed out, have always remained strong despite the changing political environment.

Oman was Modi’s last stop in his four-nation tour. He visited Jordan, Palestine and the United Arab Emirates since February 9.