Riyadh: The Oman-Saudi Business Council held its 4th meeting in Muscat on Wednesday. The meeting aims to boost business relations and address challenges facing the private sectors of the two countries, as well as review establishing joint projects.
The Omani side was headed by Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, while the Saudi side was headed by Khalid al Falih, Minister of Investment. During the meeting, the website of the Oman-Saudi Business Council was launched.
The website aims to highlight the activities of the council and investment opportunities in the two countries. The meeting reviewed the initiative of establishing the Saudi Franchise Exhibition. It also discussed operating the Empty Quarter border checkpoint for truck movement 24/7 and allowing transit. The council’s meeting also covered the matter of facilitating the entry of Omani products to Saudi markets.
Several B2B meetings were held on the sidelines of the council’s meeting between Omani and Saudi businesspersons. Eng Ridha bin Juma al Saleh, Chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI), said that indicators show a constant rise in trade between the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Al Saleh added that trade exchange by the end of May 2022 reached RO 1.009 billion between the two countries. The volume of Saudi investments registered in Oman amounted to RO 1.477 billion. Shaikh Ali bin Hamad al Kalbani, Head of the Oman-Saudi Business Council (Omani side), affirmed the keenness of the two countries’ private sectors to contribute to economic integration.
Tariq al Haidari, First Vice-President of the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, said that the council will play a leading role in bolstering economic partnerships by implementing an action programme that prepares a suitable milieu for the enhancement of economic cooperation between businesspersons of the two countries.
Nasser bin Said al Hajri, Head of the Oman-Saudi Business Council (Saudi side), indicated that Saudi Arabia is keen to achieve greater and broader cooperation in the field of investment and to attract Omani investors to invest in the KSA. Al Hajri added that six specialised sectoral committees stemmed from the Oman-Saudi Business Council, particularly in the fields of energy and mining, food security, technology, logistics, industries and construction, and services. — ONA
