Omani Sultan and Prime Minster Haitham bin Tariq welcomed his counterpart, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al-Baraka Palace in Seeb, Oman recently. The two leaders discussed the deepening of Oman and Saudi’s “firm historic fraternal relations.”
The event underscored their mutual commitment to enhancing cooperation across various fields.
Saudi Minister of the National Guard Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan were among the delegates from Saudi. Meanwhile, Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister for Defense Affairs Shihab bin Tariq was also in attendance, along with Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Dhi Yazan bin Haitham.
Potential opportunities
Commenting on the meeting between Oman and Saudi, Dr. Said Mohammed Al-Saqri, Oman’s minister of economy, emphasized the significant developments in economic relations between the two Gulf nations.
He revealed that there was a substantial increase in Oman’s non-oil exports to Saudi. In 2022, the figures hit $2.4 bn, which marks a 33.9 percent surge. Saudi also now ranks as Oman’s second-largest trading partner, representing 10.5 percent of its non-oil exports last year.
Furthermore, imports from Saudi Arabia to Oman grew by approximately 12 percent in the same period, reaching $4.6 bn.
Read: Saudi Arabia records trade surplus in Q2 despite dip in oil exports
Dr. Al-Saqri also shared that there are numerus investment opportunities for the Saudi private sector in Oman’s oil, gas, clean and renewable energy, as well as green hydrogen industries. All these potential partnerships aim to promote sustainable energy solutions and minimizing carbon emissions.
The partnership between Saudi and Oman has particularly flourished since the establishment of the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council in July 2021.
“This council aims to formulate a shared vision for deepening and sustaining the bilateral ties while elevating cooperation in political, economic, security, military, and human development domains,” stated Dr. Al-Saqri.
Expanding economic horizons
The coordination council is anchored in the shared objectives of Oman’s Vision 2040 and Saudi’s Vision 2030 . These comprehensive plans aim to reduce oil dependency while encouraging more private sector participation and investments to fuel sustainable growth.
Beyond oil, gas, and energy, the two nations have been encouraging mutual investments across key sectors. These include infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, and tourism.
Additionally, under the directive of the crown prince, Saudi allocated $5 mn from its Public Investment Fund to establish a company in Oman. The company will be pivotal in Saudi’s goal to invest in promising opportunities. This initiative has already led to joint economic ventures in diverse fields.
Dr. Al-Saqri underscored Oman’s position as an ideal destination for Saudi investors. He said, “Oman’s investment environment is characterized as encouraging and attractive to foreign investments in general, thanks to its strategic location, economic, political, and security stability, a clear and transparent legal and institutional framework, advanced infrastructure, and simplified procedures and incentives for investment and business.”
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