Saturday 29 / August / 2026
SALALAH: The Wilayat of Salalah in Dhofar Governorate will host next Wednesday the seventh meeting of the Coordination Committee for Economy, Trade and Industry under the Omani-Saudi Coordination Council, as Oman and Saudi Arabia seek to accelerate joint initiatives and strengthen economic and industrial integration.
The meeting will bring together officials and representatives from both countries and will review progress in implementing existing initiatives, consider new proposals and identify measures to overcome challenges and speed up implementation.
The Omani delegation will be headed by Ghalib bin Said Al Maamari, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Trade and Industry, while the Saudi side will be led by Rakan bin Wadhah Trabzoni, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy and Planning for International Economic Affairs.
Key areas of cooperation include industrial supply chains, intra-regional trade, non-oil exports, investment and private-sector partnerships. The committee is also working to facilitate trade between the two markets and provide equal treatment for Omani and Saudi companies in government tenders and procurement.
Al Maamari said economic, trade and industrial relations between Oman and Saudi Arabia are continuing to develop, with the next phase focusing on initiatives that have a direct impact on businesses and the private sector.
These include facilitating trade and investment, addressing barriers to bilateral trade, strengthening industrial integration and supply chains, and creating opportunities for joint investments.
The initiatives under discussion also cover attracting industrial investments, expanding non-oil exports, cooperation on competition and anti-monopoly practices, and facilitating the registration of Omani products with Saudi regulatory authorities.
New opportunities in semiconductors, electronic chips and ready-made factories are also expected to receive attention. Khalid bin Salim Al Qasabi, Director General of Industry at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, said the two sides aim to open new opportunities for private-sector cooperation in value-added industries and advanced technologies.
The meeting will also seek to leverage Oman's strategic position as a re-export hub and increase intra-regional trade between the two countries.
A key outcome will be the signing of an executive programme for 2026–2028 to activate the memorandum of understanding between the Omani Ministry of Economy and the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning in the fields of economy and planning.
The programme is intended to translate the memorandum into concrete projects and initiatives, with implementation to be monitored through the Coordination Committee.
