Belarus plans to begin assembling machinery in Oman this year. This was announced in an interview with Belarusian television by Belarus’ ambassador to Egypt and concurrently to Oman, Yauhen Sabaleuski. Machinery assembly is part of a plan to create a Belarusian hub in Oman.
“We have certainly developed an action plan for implementing the hub. The first steps involve establishing assembly operations for Belarusian machinery in Oman’s free economic zones. This includes the assembly of MAZ, Amkodor and several other enterprises’ equipment. At this stage, we have already moved, as I said, from general words to action, and we expect that the first unit of Belarusian machinery will be assembled in Oman this year. After that, we will move on to other stages of implementing the hub”, he said.
The ambassador noted that Oman would provide Belarus with access to countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The country has free trade zones with many states.
“We have already outlined specific steps and are working in detail on projects involving the packaging of Belarusian baby food and milk powder here. Of course, we expect Belarusian goods to be represented on the shelves of local stores in a wider assortment, because this also concerns the direct supply of goods. And, naturally, it also concerns the localization of Belarusian expertise in the local market”, Sabaleuski added.
According to him, the largest Omani project in Belarus will be a new pulp and cardboard mill. Last year, a memorandum was signed for the implementation of the $1.4 billion project. The mill will produce 800,000 tonnes of products annually.
“This project is one of the flagship, key projects that will also make it possible to implement Belarusian expertise in woodworking and the pulp and cardboard industry. It will itself serve as a clear signal and, I would say, a magnet for attracting other businesses to Belarus”, the ambassador explained.
The diplomat also said that the current situation in the Persian Gulf region was more likely to bring Oman new advantages.
“The situation here undoubtedly affects the region, logistics chains and investment risks. But I would say that the impact on Oman, if viewed not second by second or minute by minute but in the longer term, is more likely to have the opposite effect. Everyone is now gravitating toward states that maintain economic and political stability and guarantee the security of infrastructure and capital investments. Oman has all of this.
It is probably one of the most attractive countries at the moment, and in the long term it has managed to preserve its strongest advantages. Given the prospects for reconfiguring logistics corridors, even taking into account the effect of the current situation, Oman is also benefiting, as we can see. From this point of view, we certainly did not make a mistake, and this once again confirms that we made the right choice, that we need to maintain close ties, and that Oman is our strategic partner in the region”, he said.
