Monday, Apr 09, 2012
Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: UAE investment projects in Oman are worth as much as Dh1.6 billion and number more than 3,300, a top Omani official said yesterday.
Khaleel Khanji, head of the Omani Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the UAE is Omans most significant non-oil trading partner.
The UAE has 174 billion Omani riyals (Dh1.6 billion) of investments in different projects in our country. More than 80 per cent of Omans non-oil trade is with the UAE. In 2011, the UAE market absorbed 40 per cent of Omani non-oil exports, Khanji said.
Our trade and economic ties with the UAE are very strong and distinguished.
He said the number of Omani companies doing business in the UAE reached 229 at the end of March and is slated to increase in the coming months due to the trade and economic facilities that the UAE gives Omani companies.
Clear roadmap
Early this year, Oman and the UAE held talks to establish a roadmap to further develop economic integration between the two countries.
Oman ranks third in terms of commercial trade between the UAE and a GCC state, after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Non-oil UAE exports to the GCC in the first seven months of 2011 were valued at Dh61 million, comprising 6 per cent of its non-oil exports to GCC states, according to an Omani spokesperson
Over the same period, re-exports to Oman amounted to Dh273 million, equivalent to 13 per cent of UAE re-exports. Total trade between the UAE and Oman amounted to Dh653 million, he observed.
The meeting resulted in the determination of a number of practical steps to be implemented to ensure prompt movement of goods across the borders and to effectively address barriers to trade, the Omani spokesperson commented.
The Omani delegation praised the UAEs efforts to enhance relations between the two countries, and reiterated that both states have enjoyed mutual cooperation over a long period of time.
By Shehab Al Makahleh, Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
