MUSCAT: Omani non-oil exports to Saudi Arabia surged to around $2.4 billion in 2022, up from $1.68 billion a year earlier — a significant 33.9 per cent uptick that illustrates resurgent efforts by their respective leaderships to bolster trade and economic ties between the two nations.
Dr Said bin Mohammed al Saqri, Minister of Economy, attributed the upturn in bilateral trade to an array of factors, but most notably, the establishment of an Omani-Saudi Coordination Council, coupled with the launch of a first-ever land border between the two countries in the Rub Al Khali (The Empty Quarter).
In an interview featured in Asharq Al Awsat, the world’s premier pan-Arab daily headquartered in London, Al Saqri was quoted as saying: “Economic cooperation has witnessed significant advancement over the years.
“This cooperation has unfolded through a series of stages and agreements that reflect the depth of the relationship between the two nations. The most pivotal milestones in the economic collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Oman include 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.”
Reflecting the mutually beneficial nature of blossoming bilateral ties between the two countries, Saudi Arabia’s exports into the Sultanate of Oman also climbed 12 per cent to reach around $4.6 billion in 2022, up from $1.45 billion a year earlier, said Al Saqri.
This uptrend in two-way trade volumes also bodes well for the start of a new, energetic chapter in economic cooperation spanning a wide variety of sectors, the minister said.
He cited in this regard the recent pledge by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), to invest around $5 billion in economic projects in Oman, following the directives of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to this effect.
Following that landmark announcement, PIF plans to establish a company in Oman to oversee investments in a number of strategic joint projects, said Al Saqri.
Those moves have since unlocked opportunities for joint cooperation across a flurry of projects and initiatives spanning hydrocarbons, manufacturing and industry, infrastructure and tourism, he noted.
An area of particular promise, Al Saqri pointed out, is the clean and renewable energy sector, centring on the deployment of solar and wind capacity for the production of green hydrogen to support the decarbonisation of the two economies.
Re-stressing the distinctive investment appeal of the Sultanate of Oman, the minister stated: “Oman’s investment environment is characterised 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.”
“All these factors make Oman a reliable and ideal investment destination, especially given the abundance of investment opportunities for investors in general and Saudi investors in particular,” he added in conclusion.
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