Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Angola seek to promote areas of bilateral cooperation in various fields and open new horizons for cooperation in a manner that serves their common interests and achieves promising and solid strategic partnerships.
The upcoming official visit of President Joao Lourenco of the Republic of Angola to the Sultanate of Oman this Thursday represents a new chapter of political relations and bilateral cooperation between the two countries. It is also an important step to foster trade and economic ties in a manner that serves their common interests.
Within the context of the bilateral relations, a number of visits were made during the past period that contributed to achieving more rapprochement and exploring opportunities for cooperation and prospects for partnership between the two countries.
One of the most important visits was made by HH Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth to Angola last May 2024. During the visit, a cooperation agreement in the field of investment was inked.
In addition, a delegation from the State Council also visited Angola in October 2023 to participate in the meetings of the 147th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
The Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Angola started to develop economic and trade relations recently, as there are no agreements or memoranda of understanding signed between the two countries in this field, which is reflected in the figures of the volume of trade and investment between them.
The inter-trade statistics show that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to approximately RO 3.2 million by the end of 2023, compared to 2022, when it was about RO 1.3 million, recording an increase of 145.1 percent. The trade balance between the two countries in 2023 was in favour of the Sultanate of Oman, with a surplus of about RO 1.9 million.
Statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) indicated that the total Omani exports to the Republic of Angola in 2023 amounted to more than RO 3 million, compared to RO 1.3 million in 2022, recording an increase of 131.9 percent. This surge is attributed to the export of electrical cables to the Republic of Angola.
Statistics indicate that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached about RO 1.97 million during the first ten months of 2024, as the value of Omani exports to Angola amounted to RO 1.9 million, while the value of Omani imports from Angola amounted to RO 69,400.
As far as the volume of cumulative Angolan investment licensed in the Sultanate of Oman is concerned, the are two registered companies with Angolan participation until September 2024.
The size of the invested capital increased from RO 24,000 in 2023 to RO 44,000 until September 2024, recording an increase of 83.3 percent. Although this reflects an increase in the interest of Angolans in establishing companies in the Sultanate of Oman, the number of companies and the invested capital is still small.
Ali Said Al Kathiri, Head of the Sultanate of Oman’s Mission to the Republic of South Africa, told Oman News Agency (ONA) that the official visit of the Angolan President to the Sultanate of Oman would contribute to boosting economic and trade cooperation as it will explore the joint investment opportunities in sectors such as energy, mining, agriculture, and industry.
He pointed to the potential of signing agreements or memoranda of understanding that would boost trade exchange and open markets between the two countries.
He added that the visit will pave the way for cooperation in energy sector through the exchange of expertise in the fields of oil, gas and renewable energy, and studying joint investment opportunities in energy and sustainability projects.
The visit will also contribute to developing cultural and educational relations, Al Kathiri further added.
He pointed out that the visit would upgrade the political and diplomatic coordination through the exchange of views on a set of regional and international issues, noting that the two countries seek to enhance cooperation in international organizations to back common issues.
He explained that among the areas of cooperation are infrastructure and transportation as the two sides will discuss partnership opportunities in infrastructure projects, developing ports and logistics services, and enhancing maritime and air links between the two countries to facilitate trade and tourism movement.
Al Kathiri said: “The bilateral relations between Oman and Angola are cordial and promising, yet, they are still in their early stages of development compared to the Sultanate of Oman’s relations with other countries”.
He affirmed that the two countries seek to develop bilateral relations on a solid foundation, so they share a vision based on mutual respect and the desire to upgrade economic and development partnerships.
Although the volume of trade exchange between the two countries is still limited, there are great opportunities for expansion in a number of common areas, said Al Kathiri, who affirmed that fostering cooperation between the two sides comes within international and regional frameworks, in a manner that serves the common interests and enhances stability in both Africa and the Middle East.
He pointed out that there are many lucrative economic opportunities for investment between the Oman and Angola, including natural resources.
He added that the Sultanate of Oman enjoys a huge experience in managing oil resources and renewable energy, which enables it to provide innovative technologies and expertise to enhance productivity and sustainability in Angola, which in turn is one of the largest oil producers in Africa.
In the field of mining, the Head of the Mission said: “Omani companies can participate in mining projects and develop the infrastructure related to this sector, given that Angola enjoys rich resources and precious minerals, such as diamonds, gold, and copper”.
He pointed out that the field of food security is one of the important sectors that provide opportunities for cooperation between the two countries. In this context, he said: “The Republic of Angola has fertile agricultural lands and a suitable climate for growing various crops, while the Sultanate of Oman is a growing market for agricultural products. Cooperation in this field would contribute to enhancing food security for both countries”.
He explained that Oman and Angola also seek to enhance maritime connectivity between them to facilitate trade, strengthen economic relations, develop sustainable tourism, tourism infrastructure, and exchange expertise in tourism marketing. They also seek to foster cooperation in food processing and heavy industries, with a focus on enhancing the added value of natural resources.
Ambassador Ali Said Al Kathiri, Head of the Sultanate of Oman’s Mission to the Republic of South Africa, stressed that the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Angola can be strategic partners in enhancing regional and international trade, especially through their large ports and logistics facilities.
On his turn, Dr. Frederico Cardoso, Ambassador of the Republic of Angola to the Sultanate of Oman said that the first visit of President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of the Republic of Angola to the Sultanate of Oman and his meeting with His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik will constitute an unequivocal signal given by the highest representatives of both countries, of the reciprocal interest in strengthening the bilateral relations and establishing direct communication channels, effective institutional and legal mechanisms of cooperation, which will convert the countries’ intentions into concrete achievements.
In a statement to Oman News Agency, the ambassador added that the official visit by the President of Angola to the Sultanate of Oman also constitutes the culmination of other important actions already carried out in the bilateral domain, as well as a great incentive to increasingly reinforce the ties of friendship that unite the countries’ governments and their peoples.
He pointed out that as members and partners in several international organizations, in the concert of nations, the relations between the Republic of Angola and the Sultanate of Oman have always been based on mutual respect, friendship and cordiality.
The ambassador explained that the dynamics of changes in the world in recent years and the various challenges have required the two countries to find and experiment with new approaches to ongoing challenges. Many of these approaches, he added, involve strengthening bilateral relations, through identifying the complementarities of our economies, the reciprocity of advantages and the sustainability and long-term nature of the options the two countries share.
He concluded his statement to ONA by saying “These are the foundations of the relationship that the leaders of the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Angola are building both at the political level and in areas as important as economic diversification, mining exploration, finance, oil and gas and renewable energies, agriculture, tourism, logistics, food security, transport, new technologies, telecommunications and more”.
