Oman, Saudi Arabia enter 'new era' of economic co-operation

RIYADH -- The sultanate of Oman and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia are set to enter "a new stage of economic and investment co-operation in all fields" after signing agreements valued at $30 billion, state media said.

The deals were inked Tuesday (December 7) as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began a tour of the Gulf states, in which he also will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.

The tour, which includes a visit to Doha for the first time in four years, comes ahead of a Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) summit, to be held in Riyadh on December 14.

Gulf leaders signed a solidarity deal on January 5 after the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar publicly embraced, bringing Doha back into the regional fold.

On Tuesday, Saudi and Omani companies "signed 13 memoranda of understanding worth $30 billion", SPA reported.

The agreements between the two neighbours, which are seeking to diversify their economies away from oil, range from co-operation in the energy and tourism sectors to finance and technology.

"They manifest the two countries leaderships' vision aimed to meet the aspirations of their peoples," the Oman News Agency (ONA) said.

Agreements were signed in the fields of petrochemicals, renewable energy and green hydrogen with ACWA Power, Aramco and Sabic.

Further agreements were signed in the field of dry dock and logistic services; to assess opportunities for explorations in the mining sector; and for the development of a tourism project in the Yitti area along Oman's coastline.

Yitti beach is an area of outstanding natural beauty on the outskirts of Muscat.

Agreements also were reached in the fisheries, communications, information technology (IT) and financial securities sectors, with Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) entering into an agreement with Tadawul Stock Exchange.

Advancing joint Arab action

In July, Saudi Arabia and Oman reaffirmed plans to engage in joint investment in various areas.

In August, a number of agreements were signed during the Omani-Saudi Investment Forum, held in Muscat.

"The achievements made over the past five months and the active exchange of visits among officials reflect the keen desire of the two countries to work together," ONA said.

Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Ridha Jumaa Al Saleh told ONA the Saudi delegation's visit "consolidates the ties of affinity and serves the two countries' interests and status at the regional and international arenas".

"Oman and Saudi Arabia constitute basic pillars in the GCC and they carry strategic weight towards advancing joint Arab action," he said.

He noted that the two countries "share identical views towards domestic development and that their visions are enshrined in Oman Vision 2040 and Saudi Vision 2030".

Saudi Arabia is "one of Oman's topmost strategic partners", he said, noting that figures for the first quarter in 2021 show a 14.89% increase in commercial exchange between the two countries, compared to the same period in 2020.

He said the private sector in both countries looks forward to better commercial exchange, with the overall aim of reaching a stage of economic integration, boosted by the opening of the Omani-Saudi desert highway.

The highway is expected to provide more direct access for the flow of goods and services between the two neighbours and to facilitate economic and commercial activities.

The Gulf states are seeking to diversify their economies away from oil, investing heavily in recent years in the tourism, entertainment and sports sectors.