Oman and UAE: Fraternal bonds, strategic relations and economic partnership

The Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates are bound by fraternal bonds and strategic partnership. These bilateral relations are witnessing a remarkable progress, thanks to the support and attention accorded by the wise leaderships of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

In its report on the Oman-UAE ties, Oman News Agency (ONA) said that the two leaderships are keen to elevate the relations towards wider horizons in a manner that serves interest of the two countries’ peoples and maintains security and stability in the region and the world at large.

The distinguished relations between the two sides are based on economic and trade partnership. These relations were unique since the first meeting between the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The two countries shared the same vision towards issues of mutual concern to the two countries’ peoples. Their relations represented the real meaning of fraternity and harmony over the past five decades.

The state-visit of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to the UAE this Monday and his meeting with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan assume a great importance. The visit aims at promoting the bilateral relations and pushing them forward towards wider horizons. During their meeting, the two leaders will exchange views on the regional and international developments.

Oman and the UAE strive to boost the effective cooperation between them on the principle of mutual interest in various fields.

The joint supreme committee between the two countries, which was established in 1991, seeks to enhance ways of cooperation and coordination between the two countries in diverse economic, commercial, cultural and educational fields. It also works to link electricity and communications networks, coordinate land transport services and transportation procedures between the two countries through various border crossings, in addition to promoting opportunities and areas of joint investment, for the present and future benefits of the Omani and Emirati peoples.

Sayyid Dr. Ahmed bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Ambassador of Oman to the UAE, said that His Majesty’s upcoming visit to the UAE will contribute to accelerating and developing the path of cooperation, integration and partnership between the two countries. He pointed out that the mutual visits of the leadership of the two countries culminated during the last period through the signing of 16 agreements and memorandums of understanding in various fields.

He affirmed to ONA that there is a remarkable leap in the economic relations between Oman and the UAE, thanks to the attention accorded by the leaderships of the two countries. Sayyid Al Busaidi expected that the upcoming period will witness more joint investment cooperation that would contribute to consolidating and developing the existing economic partnership between the two countries.

He explained that the key Omani investment in the United Arab Emirates include the sectors of financial activities, insurance, manufacturing industries, real estate, professional and technical activities, wholesale and retail trade, information and communications. Meanwhile, the list of the most important Emirati investments in Oman includes the industrial, financial, banking, tourism, power generation, real estate activities, retail trade sectors and construction, he noted.

Sayyid Ahmed said that the UAE is one of the most important trading partners of the Sultanate of Oman. He pointed out that the indicators of continuous growth in the volume of trade and investment exchange between the two countries over the past years reflect the advanced economic partnership between them and its lucrative prospects. He noted that Omani exports to the UAE during 2023 exceeded RO 1 billion, marking an increase of 20.4 percent compared to 2022.

The Embassy of Oman in the UAE strives to boost the economic and investment cooperation between the two countries through continuous communication with the relevant government agencies, chambers of commerce and industry, and investors in the UAE, affirmed Sayyid Ahmed. He explained that the Embassy urges them to utilize the investment opportunities available in Oman.

Statistics issued by the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) show that the volume of trade exchange between the Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates by the end of 2023 amounted to about RO 5.439 billion, compared to RO 5.571 billion by the end of 2022.

The statistics also showed that the value of Omani products exported to the United Arab Emirates by the end of last year amounted to more than RO 291.7 million, represented by metal products, chemical industry products, related industries, and other products and commodities. Meanwhile, the value of products imported from the UAE amounted to More than RO 837.7 million. They included machinery, appliances, electrical equipment and other products.

The figures showed that the United Arab Emirates topped the countries attracting direct Omani investments abroad, amounting to RO 960 million until the end of 2022, while the total direct Emirati investments in Oman until the end of last year amounted to about RO 958 million.

The Sultanate of Oman is one of the most important markets for Emirati trade. It is ranked third in the Arab world and 10th globally in the list of trade partners of the UAE and accounts for 20 percent of the total trade of the Emirates, due to the ease of transporting goods and the smooth and free movement of national products between the two countries through land ports.

The private sector in the two countries plays a vital role in economic development and is relied upon to achieve economic diversification trends through various areas, namely converting industries, logistics services, mining, tourism and fisheries.

Faisal Abdullah Al Rowas, Chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry affirmed that the fraternal bonds between Oman and the UAE represent a solid ground for integrated partnership in the economic and trade sectors.

He told ONA that the UAE is one of the most important trading partners of Oman through direct investment in a number of sectors, including manufacturing industries, real estate and rental activities, commercial project activities, construction, financial intermediation, transportation and storage, hotels, and others. He pointed out that the UAE comes in first place as a destination for the direct Omani investments abroad.

The Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates established “Oman and Etihad Rail” in September 2022 as a joint company owned equally between them. With the aim of designing, developing and operating a railway network linking Sohar Port to the UAE national railway network, with a total project investment of USD 3 billion, the joint company will devise the work plan for implementing the project, including financing mechanisms and the timetable, and then supervise the design, implementation and operation of the railway network project.

Through this project, which will link the Wilayat of Sohar in the Governorate of North Al Batinah with the capital Abu Dhabi, the two sides seek to raise the efficiency of the supply chain system and ease the practice of cross-border trade, link commercial ports and economic zones to the railway network, enhance commercial and social connectivity between the two countries and improving the efficiency of logistics services.

The Omani and Emirati ports are linked by direct lines to transport various products and exports. This contributed to achieving mutual economic benefits for the two countries. The ports of the Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates are also considered a gateway and a major link between the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, and serve transiting ships.

The Duqm Dry Dock, which provides marine solutions and maintenance and repair services for various types and sizes of ships, received more than 350 projects from the UAE market in 2023, recording a growth of 43 percent compared to 2022.

In the field of tourism, tourist facilities in the two countries receive many groups of tourists from both countries. Moreover, there are many joint tourism investments that have contributed to attracting more tourists.

As for the cultural aspect, the two countries have closely and continuously strengthened cooperation in this important field by organizing joint cultural events and activities. The Sultanate of Oman participated in Expo Dubai 2020 and other national occasions and events that reflect the fraternal bonds and common historical ties.

The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth and the Ministry of Information, annually participates in book fairs in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, while various cultural and media institutions in the United Arab Emirates participate every year in Muscat International Book Fair.

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