Promising Middle East. We review the horizons of cooperation between Belarus and Oman

Nikolai Borisevich Director of the National Marketing Center The Middle East is a heterogeneous, but promising region. If until recently, cooperation between Belarus and the states of Western Asia and North Africa developed mainly along credit, investment and humanitarian vectors, today we are increasingly looking for common ground in the economic sphere. An example is Oman, which borders Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen. Belarus has long-standing ties with the Sultanate: this state of the Arabian Peninsula gladly buys our food products , pays attention to interaction in science and technology, and strengthens contacts in the banking sector. However, relations between the two countries have not yet reached their peak. There are a lot of prospects and a lot has been done to intensify the movement towards achieving them. Next week, on August 28, the first Belarusian-Omani business forum will take place in the capital of the sultanate - sunny Muscat. On the agenda is the search for effective trading tools, establishing cooperation in the field of information technology, and realizing the export potential of domestic enterprises in the dairy and engineering industries. BELTA's correspondent spoke with Nikolai Borisevich, director of the National Marketing Center, about what we can give and what we can take in cooperation with this relatively small Arab traditional and at the same time ultra-modern monarchy.

“Less than 1% of the land there is suitable for agriculture - Belarus can take advantage of this.”

For its region, Oman is a state that does not particularly stand out. Monarchy in the form of a sultanate with a population of 5.2 million, 73% of whom are Arabs and 86% Muslims. At the same time, they are thinking about the future, pouring investments into sectors of the economy that, if not now, then in the next 20-30 years, will become a priority for not even country-specific but global development. Thus, Oman adopted the Vision 2040 program - a 20-year national multi-sectoral document that represents a key guideline for the development of the state. Its goal is to diversify the economy based on innovation, develop the private sector, integrate into the world economy, and as a result, double GDP per capita.

“The program is mainly aimed at developing non-oil sectors of the economy: logistics, tourism, mining, large transport links,” Nikolai Borisevich commented on the contents of the document. “At the same time, the program is aimed at developing food and water security, achieved through renewable resources, advanced technologies and optimal exploiting the strategic location and biodiversity of the sultanate to make local agriculture possible.more productive and sustainable, the program involves the use of modern technologies in wastewater treatment and their use in agriculture and energy production."

In the next few years, free economic zones will actively expand in this Gulf state. Still, this is one of the priority vectors for economic development sultanate, enshrined in the Vision 2040 program

. And now to the numbers. According to the World Bank, at the end of 2023, Oman is recognized as the 66th economy in the world, ranking 7th out of 8 possible in terms of economic development among the Gulf countries and 11th. out of 17 - among the countries of the Middle East. The largest contribution to Oman's GDP is made by industry (about 57%), which employs about 35% of the workforce. In addition to the oil and gas industry, the mining of copper, aluminum, chromium, and the production of chemical fertilizers, cement, and ethylene are developed in Oman. and polyethylene, glass products, textiles.

Of particular interest to us is the fact that, as Nikolai Borisevich emphasized, due to climatic and geological conditions, only 1% of the land in Oman is suitable for agriculture. Dates are the main food export item in this country. Fishing and traditional marine industries are mainly developed here. So why don’t Belarusian agricultural producers increase the volume of food supplies to this Middle Eastern country?

“Oman’s economy continues to be characterized by volatility, poor diversification and rising youth unemployment,” noted the director of the National Marketing Center. “The oil and gas sector remains dominant in the country’s economy. Today, Oman is among the top 20 oil producing countries and the top 25 countries on proven oil reserves. At the same time, the Sultanate is promoting the use of renewable energy sources. The state is expected to implement one of the world's largest green hydrogen production projects, making Oman a pioneer in the field of renewable energy technologies. The Sultanate aims to produce 1. million tons of green fuel by 2030 and 8 million tons by 2050."

As part of the diversification of the economy, the mining sector is also expanding significantly (Oman plans to become the center of mining activity in the region in the future).

Digitalization is considered as part of the diversification and modernization of the economy. The development of applications for mobile devices, in particular chat applications, which, by the way, are common sales channels among small and medium-sized businesses, is in high demand here. As it turns out, Oman is one of the world's leading countries in the field of cybersecurity. Belarus also has something to share in this area.

This Gulf country is also implementing a number of projects to develop its public transport network. In Muscat, along with the construction of the metro, the bus network is being actively improved. Joint projects in the field of railway transport are being implemented with the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The construction of tunnels in the mountainous regions of the country continues.

Oman is also interested in organizing the production of medicines to reduce dependence on imported pharmaceuticals. And this is also a reason to think for Belarusian exporters.

Don't forget about investments

For Belarus, Oman is also attractive from an investment point of view. According to UNCTAD data, the influx of foreign direct investment into the economy of this country has a positive growth trend and increases from year to year by an average of 7-8%. According to the National Center for Statistics and Information of Oman, the top 5 largest investors for the state are the UK , UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. The USA , China , India, the Netherlands, and Switzerland are also investing a lot .

The National Marketing Center, in turn, is ready to assist Belarusian investors in entering and developing business in the Omani market. As Nikolai Borisevich said, Oman provides its investors with a lot of preferences.

"The majority of investment is in the oil and gas sector. Significant resources are being poured into infrastructure and logistics. At the same time, foreign investors are pouring funds into projects such as wireless communications equipment, the 5G network, biotechnology, renewable energy, agriculture, water and wastewater treatment, mining industry," the expert said.

Four years ago, Oman adopted a new foreign investment law , which was an important step towards increasing the attraction of foreign investment in the state. Nikolai Borisevich explained that the legislative innovation abolished the minimum 30% Omani ownership requirement, simplified registration and licensing procedures for foreign investors, and aligned the rights and incentives of foreign investors with the rights and incentives provided to local investors.

From a possibly expected result to a worthy and indicative one.

And yet, the basis of Belarusian-Omani cooperation is trade. Nearly two-thirds of Oman's total foreign trade turnover comes from exports . The top 20 most imported items by Oman (excluding hydrocarbons), according to ITC Trademap, include: iron ores and concentrates, passenger cars and spare parts, gold in raw form, terephthalic acid, ethers, smartphones, pipes for cars and gas wells, milkand condensed cream, wheat and meslin, copper wire, semi-finished iron or non-alloy steel, cigarettes, aluminum oxide, medicines , palm oil , rice, pipeline fittings, aromatic alcohols, computer devices. A lot of goats are imported to Oman from abroad.

In mutual trade with Oman over the past three years, we have nothing special to brag about: in 2021, Belarusian exports to the Middle Eastern country fell by more than 15% compared to 2020, and this is easy to explain, because before the introduction of sanctions restrictions by Western opponents against the largest For ten years, domestic enterprises have been supplying the basis of potassium chloride to Oman. Since then, exports have remained below what might have been expected, and the upcoming Belarus-Oman business forum will help solve this problem.

Today, Belarus mainly supplies dairy products (milk and condensed cream, whey), elevator equipment, flat rolled iron or non-alloy steel, polymer threads, paper and cardboard products, jams, fruit puree, radiators, pipeline fittings, measuring and control instruments, care cosmetics.

The director of the National Marketing Center, speaking about the export potential of our country on the Omani market, notes dairy products among the most promising product items and subitems, adding to the already supplied goods listed above, milk powder , cheese and milk pastes, meat (chicken carcasses and large cuts cattle ), eggs , processed timber, wooden furniture, cars and other vehicles for transporting passengers, elevators and lifts, electrical conductors, iron or non-alloy steel wire, pipes for oil or gas pipelines.

“Of course, there is serious potential for increasing exports of food products to Oman, primarily dairy and meat, metallurgical and mechanical engineering products, including cars and public transport,” Nikolai Borisevich concluded. “At the same time, opportunities are being explored for domestic companies to participate in infrastructure projects in the Middle East, including in the fields of logistics, telecommunications, energy and utilities, as well as in projects to create pharmaceutical production facilities in Oman with a chance to enter neighboring markets."

We can almost certainly say that progress in the indicated areas will be made very soon, at the upcoming Belarusian-Omani business forum. Experts do not rule out that relations between the two countries at the very beginning of their journey and in the future will be marked by exponential growth.

“We are equally serious about developing business ties with any country, regardless of its weight and influence, using its opportunities both to enter the local and regional markets,” the director of the marketing center summed up the conversation about the horizons of Belarus in the Omani market.

Vera VASILEVSKAYA,
BELTA.