Tuesday 30 / September / 2025
Muscat: For seamless flow of goods and to enhance industrial and commercial integration, the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday adopted mutual recognition of certificates of origin between the two countries.
This came during a bilateral meeting at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, co-chaired by Dr. Saleh Said Masan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Commerce and Industry, and Eng. Al Badr Adel Fouda, Deputy Minister for Industrial Development at the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.
The meeting reviewed ways to enhance industrial integration and trade exchange between the two countries and discussed initiatives for the second phase of their industrial integration.
These initiatives included incorporating manufactured products from Oman and Saudi Arabia into the list of approved industrial capacities, ensuring equal treatment for Omani and Saudi companies in government tenders and procurement, facilitating the registration procedures for industrial goods and products with regulatory bodies in both countries, launching a fast track for product conformity procedures, stimulating joint industrial investments and exchanging investment opportunities across various sectors, and enhancing integration in industrial and commercial value chains, particularly those linked to free trade agreements and target African markets.
During the meeting, several memoranda of understanding between Omani companies and their Saudi counterparts were inked. The pacts aimed at developing strategic partnerships in multiple fields, exchanging expertise, and opening new markets for national products, thereby contributing to enhanced industrial integration and increased trade exchange between the two countries.
Dr. Saleh explained that this meeting continues the path of strategic partnership between Oman and Saudi Arabia in economic, trade and industrial fields, embodying the shared political will to enhance industrial integration and trade exchange. He stated that the mutual recognition of certificates of origin facilitates the flow of Omani goods into Saudi markets and provides a more flexible and seamless environment for bilateral trade, serving the interests of the business communities in both countries.
He added that the second-phase industrial integration initiatives represent a practical roadmap towards building shared industries based on the mutual utilisation of capacities and capabilities, and strengthening regional and international value chains, especially given the promising opportunities offered by free trade agreements and African markets.
He further added that the Ministry, through these initiatives, seeks to achieve Omani-Saudi industrial integration by attracting qualitative industrial investments, facilitating regulatory procedures, and unifying conformity and quality standards. This, he affirmed, cements both countries' positions as key industrial and commercial hubs in the region, aligning with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040 and Saudi Vision 2030.
In his turn, Eng. Al Badr stated that the visit to Oman aimed to follow up on the second phase of bilateral industrial integration, complete cooperation between the two countries, and provide facilities for the cross-border trade of industrial goods.
He indicated that the bilateral industrial integration initiative encompasses several pillars, including the topic of industrial capacities between the two countries and integration in supply chains within the industrial local content sector, aiming to increase trade exchange and the smooth flow of industrial goods.
Data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information showed that Omani industrial exports increased by 39% at the end of July 2025, reaching a value of OMR733 million, compared to OMR526 million during the same period in 2024. Saudi Arabia recorded a 10% increase in its exports to Oman, reaching a value of OMR762 million.
This raised the total trade exchange by 20% to OMR1.757 billion by the end of July 2025, reflecting the distinguished economic relations between the two countries and the growing demand for Omani products in Saudi markets.
