A range of economic issues and cooperation in the field of trade, investment and economy were discussed during the 10th session of the Omani-Turkish Joint Committee, hosted by the Sultanate.

The Omani side at the meeting was chaired by Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, Chairman of the Special Economic Zone Authority in Duqm (SEZAD) and Mehmet Simsek, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey. 

The Turkish Deputy Prime Minister said in a statement that the meeting discussed means of developing trade and investment between Turkey and the Sultanate, which he described as “an important country in the region and a key partner”.

He affirmed that the two countries have distinguished economic relations. He pointed out that the Sultanate is known for its strategic location overlooking many international markets, such as Asia, Africa and that it has high quality infrastructure.

He added that the meeting provides an ideal platform for gathering Omani businessmen and their Turkish counterparts to share experiences in all fields. He pointed out that 20 businessmen will arrive to the Sultanate later to explore business opportunities with their Omani counterparts.

He noted that the Omani side has presented several investment opportunities at which the Turkish side can take part in economic zones in the Sultanate and that they will consider them seriously.

He also expressed his admiration of the free zones in the Sultanate and described the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZD) as “a hub for investment”

On his part, Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, Chairman SEZAD said that the meeting translates the distinguished bilateral relations and contributes to enhancing avenues of economic relations between the two countries.

He pointed out that the meetings of the 10th session of the Omani-Turkish Joint Committee completes the efforts made by the previous committees, explore avenues of cooperation in all fields that serve both countries, help in sharing experiences and augmenting the bilateral relations.

He added that official statistics show that as of the end of 2015, there have been 64 joint ventures with $203.6 million worth capital investments in business, construction, transport, industry, services and other economic sectors.

This figure does not include the joint stock companies or branches of international Turkish companies, which increased the number of Turkish manpower in the various technical and supervisory jobs in the Sultanate to 2,734 as of the end of 2015.

The value of the reciprocal trade between the two countries crossed $309.8 million. While the value of the commodity imports from Turkey to the Sultanate stood at $246.5 million at the end of 2015, the value of the non-oil commodity exports or re-exports to Turkey stood at about $63.4 million at the end of 2015.

Source: Timesofoman