Qatar-Oman trade volume jumps 200%

DOHA: The bilateral trade volume between Qatar and Oman witnessed a sharp jump of over 200 percent (year-on-year), especially after the unjust blockade imposed by Arab quartet, which is expected to witness further growth in the coming years as both the countries are working closely to expand trade and economic cooperation. This was announced by the Minister of Finance, H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi, at Qatari-Omani Joint Committee meeting here yesterday.  

The Minister of Finance noted that there was a strong rise in trade between the two countries, which tripled from QR600m in the fourth quarter of 2016 (Q4, 2016) to QR1.8bn in the fourth quarter of 2017 (Q4, 2017). However, he stressed the need to make more efforts to increase trade between the two countries by making maximum use of shipping lines between the two countries.

The Qatari-Omani Joint Committee held its 19th session, where it discussed a number of issues related to enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries in various fields, including industry, agriculture, livestock, energy, communications, transport, tourism, banking and education.The meetings were chaired by Al Emadi, Minister of Finance and H E Darwish bin Ismail Al Balushi, Oman’s Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs. The Minister of Finance opened the meetings by reiterating the developments witnessed in the economic relations between Qatar and Oman thanks to the directives of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and H M Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

He also reviewed the achievements made to strengthen economic cooperation in the sectors of agriculture, livestock, transportation, telecommunications, energy, tourism, education, construction and banking services with investments exceeding QR0bn. He pointed to the development in investment cooperation in the private sector, in which there is a number of joint projects in the fields of agriculture and building materials industry with investments of nearly QR2bn.

The Qatari-Omani Joint Committee discussed current projects and plans to expand them, as well as ways to overcome the obstacles facing some projects. It also examined a number of proposals for the establishment of new joint ventures. The meetings were also attended by the Minister of Economy and Commerce, H E Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, and head of other government agencies, including Qatar Development Bank, who signed cooperation agreements with their Omani counterparts.