Alyaksandr Lukashenka met today in Oman with President of the Oman Investment Authority Abdulsalam bin Mohammed Al Murshidi.
According to the press service, the parties reviewed the full range of joint projects. The main topics included:
• a joint Belarus–Oman investment fund in Minsk to finance projects in Belarus;
• construction of a pulp-and-board mill in Belarus;
• an Omani logistics hub for Belarusian goods and development of the North–South route;
• investment in Belarus’s agro-industrial complex with food supplies to Oman and the region, along with a discussion of Omani seafood exports to Belarus;
• a tourism cluster with Oman as a platform for joint projects, and investment in tourism facilities in Belarus;
• a trilateral project with Algeria to create a joint production facility for complex fertilizers.
A presentation was also given to Lukashenka on the implementation of the bilateral cooperation roadmap.
Additional Information
The press service released Lukashenka’s remarks from the meeting.
“We have plenty to discuss. We have worked together for a long time and developed many joint Belarus–Oman projects. It is probably time to systematize them and decide how we will proceed. But I am satisfied with your recent statement — I remembered it. You told me: ‘Mr. President, within the next year or two you will see real progress on the specific projects we have outlined.’”
He added that after his visit to Algeria and talks with the Algerian president, additional projects emerged that required discussion in Oman.
“We agreed to establish a joint Belarus–Oman investment fund in Minsk that will finance projects in Minsk,” he said, noting that there are seven to eight concrete areas of cooperation.
Regarding the new pulp-and-board mill, Lukashenka said pre-investment and project work is underway, the site has been chosen, and no major obstacles are expected.
Lukashenka also said that Belarus and Oman are halfway through creating a Belarusian logistics hub in Oman.
“We have learned to produce almost everything needed in this region, the so-called far arc in our foreign policy. But I openly admitted that we are much worse at trading than our Omani colleagues. You have huge opportunities in the region, especially in East Africa. That is why we decided to create a Belarusian hub here — a transshipment center for our goods for re-export.”
Food supplies, he added, will be in particularly high demand, and both sides are already exchanging agricultural products. He said Belarus is ready to expand deliveries of dairy and meat products.
Lukashenka also proposed developing a tourism hub in Oman.
“Oman is a very important destination for our people. We would like to have a Belarusian tourist cluster here, near the airport. I am very grateful for the large plot of land allocated for us in an exotic place with an oasis and a comfortable climate. Belavia already operates direct flights, and we are ready to expand travel to Oman.”
He further suggested creating a production facility for complex mineral fertilizers, a concept he previously discussed in Algeria. He pointed to Belarus’s capabilities in nitrogen, phosphate and potash fertilizer production, as well as Algeria’s large natural-gas reserves and future phosphate output.
The meeting was also attended by Abdullah Al Rashdi, CEO of Oman Food Capital, and Ali Al Farsi, the official overseeing cooperation with Belarus at the Oman Investment Authority.
