Expert explains which areas of cooperation with Oman are interesting for Belarus

4 May, MINSK . Yulia Abukhovich, economic expert and HEAD of the Axios educational center of Giprosvyaz OJSC, told a BELTA correspondent about the areas of cooperation with Oman that are of interest to Belarus.

"In the short term, we need to expand the trade and economic format of cooperation between Belarus and Oman according to a scheme that has been successfully implemented in other countries where our country is entering. One of Oman's key tasks is to strengthen food security. it can invest in Belarus' agriculture and receive a return in the form of products that can be supplied not only to Oman, but also to neighboring countries," Yulia Abukhovich noted.

Today, Oman annually imports food products worth more than $5 billion, which is about 10-12% of its total import of goods. "Dependence on the global agricultural and food market situation is holding back the development of the food industry, hotel and tourism businesses both in Oman itself and throughout the Middle East. Oman and its neighbors are particularly interested in supplies of poultry MEAT, chicken eggs and dairy products: skimmed and whole MILK powder, butter, whey powder, cheeses," the expert said. "Of the non-food products, Oman purchased potash fertilizers and measuring instruments from Belarus. The volume of trade is still small: on average, about $1 million per year with a positive balance for Belarus."Oil and gas - Oman's main EXPORT goods - our country buys in its region."

The economist presented the prospects for trade and investment cooperation with Oman, in addition to the already noted need of this country for food, based on the provisions of the national development program of Oman (with a typical name for this class of documents) "Vision 2040". "It is aimed at developing non-oil sectors of the economy - mining, logistics, tourism, transport - and transforming Oman into a developed state with an economy based on knowledge," the economist noted.

All these upcoming changes are of interest to Belarus, she believes. "Oman today is already more than a market. It is also a channel for trade, transport and logistics operations on the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean coast. The ports of Muscat and Salalah are the gateway to the markets of the Persian Gulf countries and further, to the Near and Middle East, East Africa and South Asia," Yulia Abukhovich emphasized.