The first visit of a head of state in 2025 to the Sultanate of Oman by King Hamad bin Issa al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain on Tuesday underlines the deep-rooted ties between these two GCC countries.

It may be noted that His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2022 saw the signing of several agreements.

That visit witnessed the signing of 24 agreements in the fields of security, maritime transport, freedom of maritime navigation, the development of port transport, cooperation between the Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International, and Energy Studies and Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in the field of studies and research, in addition to the agreement to establish an Oman-Bahrain holding company in investment fields.

The agreement granted the Sultanate of Oman the right to sovereignty over the information of its subscribers in the provided electronic services and cloud computing centres located in the Kingdom of Bahrain and granted the Sultanate of Oman the status of an accredited partner of the Goods At Consolidator (GAC) for Freight Services.

The Joint Ministerial Committee between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman was established in 1992 to activate all initiatives and mutual proposals between the governments of the two countries and to frame them in a package of agreements, memoranda of understanding, and joint work programmes that cover various important sectors.

The Joint Business Council between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the two countries, as well as the Bahraini-Omani Friendship Society, play complementary coordination roles to enhance bilateral cooperation and work to develop it in a way that meets common aspirations.

Tuesday’s visit of the Bahraini King will seek to achieve further cooperation, integration, and harmony in all spheres in light of the two countries’ common visions, namely Oman Vision 2040 and Bahrain Vision 2030. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the volume of trade exchange between Oman and Bahrain was RO 247.1 million in 2023 and around RO 131.1 million in the nine months of 2024.

The Omani exports to the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2023 were about RO 41.6 million. The number of companies with Bahraini shares increased by the end of October 2024 to 315 from 296 in 2023.

Of these, Bahraini investment in these companies was RO 27.7 million or 80.1 per cent of the total invested capital.

This visit, the ambassador affirmed, will constitute a milestone for the fraternal relationship and bilateral cooperation under the farsighted vision of the two leaderships.

The trade and economic relationship between the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Bahrain is an old relationship that extends back to the port of Samharam and Dilmun. The Oman-Bahrain Friendship Association was established to build a new bridge of affinity, reflecting the level of harmony and fraternal relations binding the two countries’ peoples.

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