Agreements in investment and economic sectors to boost growth
The Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday signed agreements and memorandums of understanding in different fields. The pacts, inked as part of the state visit of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to the UAE, cover the areas of investment, renewable energy, railways and modern technology.
In the field of investment, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion and the UAE Ministry of Investment. It aims to explore and exchange investment opportunities in economic and investment cooperation. In the field of modern technology, ‘Jusoor’ fund project was put on track, and so was direct investment in technology startups and SMES (small and medium enterprises) operating in the technical sector. In this context, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (represented by Lunit) and Oman Investment Authority (represented by the ITHCA Group) pledged to provide $180 million funding to Jusoor Fund in implementation of an MOU inked by the two parties in 2022.
In the field of renewable energy, Omani enterprises affiliated to Oman Investment Authority (operating in the sectors of green minerals, renewable energy and electricity) signed a framework memorandum with their UAE counterparts. The two sides will begin to conduct feasibility studies to implement innovative projects in the respective areas. Three agreements were signed within the framework of the railway network project linking the Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The first is a partnership agreement between shareholders - namely Etihad Rail, Oman Rail and Mubadala, signals the actual start of the project.
The second agreement deals with awarding civil contracts for a joint network that stems from an Omani-uae alliance led by ‘Trojan Construction Group’ (NPC) and ‘Galfar Engineering and Contracting.’
The third agreement deals with “awarding systems and integration contracts related the railway network” to an alliance between Siemens and HAC to supply trains with the latest techniques and technology. The signing ceremony was attended from the Omani side by Abdussalam bin Mohammed al Murshidi, Chairman of Oman Investment Authority, Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, and Sayyid Dr Ahmed bin Hilal al Busaidy, Ambassador of Oman to the UAE. It was attended from the UAE side by Shaikh Hamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Suhail bin Mohamed al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Mohammed bin Hassan al Suwaidi, Minister of Investment and Mohammed bin Hadi al Husaini, State Minister for Financial Affairs.