Omani delegation in UK highlight opportunities
The purpose of the Omani delegation visit is to lure UK companies to set up offices in the Sultanate and help them connect with fast growing economies of Gulf and East Africa.
LONDON: A top-flight Omani business delegation led by Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry, co-Chair of the OmanUK Joint Working Group met on Tuesday with Alistair Burt, the UK’s Minister of State for International Development, Minister of State for the Middle East, co-Chair of the Oman–UK Joint Working Group, as well as British investors drawn from manufacturing, logistics, mining, energy, finance, investment and tourism.
Sayyid Badr affirmed the deep-rooted Omani-British relations and pointed out that the UK is a strategic partner in view of the volume of existing investments between the two friendly countries. is among the pillars to enhance the trade ties between the two countries.
The purpose of the four-day Omani visit is to lure UK companies to set up offices in the Sultanate, helping them connect with the fast growing economies of the Gulf and East Africa.
Speaking from London, and organiser of the trade delegation, Nasima Al Balushi, Ithraa’s Director General of Export Development, Acting Director General of Investment said: “Oman’s development as a logistics hub coupled with a choice of free trade zones, industrial estates and tech parks offer an excellent mix for UK companies looking to tap into the Gulf’s growing and lucrative market.” in Oman. This is the message we delivered at Monday’s meetings. In fact, we are seeing more UK companies looking to Oman as a strategic location and using it as a hub for trade with the Gulf and East Africa. Companies that are benefiting from the Sultanate’s political and economic stability, robust legal system, infrastructure and multilingual workforce,” explained Nasima Al Balushi.
The UK is the largest investor in Oman with nearly 50 per cent of all Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2017 worth US$11.8 billion and is also one of the Sultanate’s top trading partners with exports of UK goods to Oman increasing year-on-year.
The Department of International Trade (DIT) based at the British Embassy in Muscat helped to support US$4 billion of trade in goods and services between the UK and Oman in 2017, a 92 per cent increase from 2016. Services provided by DIT Muscat include provision of in-country expertise and business guidance, sign posting to relevant local partners, facilitation of meetings between suppliers and buyers, arranging of visit programmes, and provision of networking opportunities.