Oman Investment Authority Signs 23 Agreements and Partnerships With Chinese Entities at Investment Forum
Key Facts
The Oman Investment Authority and Omani companies and institutions signed 23 agreements, memorandums and investment partnerships with Chinese entities at an investment forum separate from the government agreements witnessed by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and President Xi Jinping. The authority said the agreements and partnerships were worth several billion dollars and included establishing joint funds, expanding investment cooperation and attracting industrial and technology projects. The move came during the sultan’s official visit to Beijing, as Muscat seeks to increase trade with its largest trading partner. The agreements covered renewable energy, mining, logistics, digital transformation and space technologies, as well as banking and trade finance and asset management. The proposed funds were among the forum’s main outcomes, alongside solar energy cooperation projects.
Among the initiatives, the Oman Investment Authority signed preliminary terms with China’s Silk Road Fund to establish an $800 million joint fund, most of which would be directed to investment in Oman. It also announced preliminary terms for a second fund with China Merchants Bank worth $300 million, to be funded equally by the two sides. The initiative extends a partnership that began with a fund established in 2019 at the same value to invest in China’s technology sector. In solar energy, the partnership includes developing projects in Oman and establishing a solar inverter factory to serve businesses in the Middle East and North Africa. These initiatives combine efforts to attract capital to the sultanate with expanding Omani investment in Chinese sectors, according to details of the agreements cited by the authority.
At the government level, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a currency-swap agreement, memorandums of understanding and a cooperation protocol covering several fields. Oman’s Foreign Ministry said the memorandums included investment cooperation in green development, as well as science and technology, innovation, the digital economy and artificial intelligence. The announced cooperation also covered BeiDou system applications, central bank digital currencies, and industrial and supply chains. In official talks, the two sides also discussed energy and renewable energy, manufacturing, logistics, digital trade and food security. Topics included strengthening integration between economic zones and ports, linking trade and industrial cooperation with the logistics infrastructure discussed by the two sides.
These efforts build on existing trade worth about 9.6 billion Omani rials in 2025, according to data cited by the Foreign Ministry from the Oman News Agency. Omani exports to China were about 7.7 billion rials, compared with imports of about 1.9 billion rials that year. Oman’s minister of commerce, industry and investment promotion said China ranked as the sultanate’s largest trading partner, accounting for about 23.8% of its total trade. The figures put Muscat’s proposal for a preferential trade and investment agreement in the context of broad trade ties, with a clear surplus in the value of Omani exports to the Chinese market. The sultan said such an agreement would open new prospects for trade and investment, while Oman expressed its desire to increase trade and develop projects through joint investment funds.
During the meeting, Xi described deepening and expanding relations with Oman as a “shared strategic choice” for the two countries, Reuters reported, citing coverage of the meeting. The comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries dates to 2018, when relations were elevated to that level, according to Oman’s Foreign Ministry. The current two-day visit is the first by an Omani head of state to China since diplomatic relations were established in 1978. This background reflects a shift from a political partnership toward efforts to expand investment, trade and technological cooperation. The announced agreements show the breadth of cooperation, from funds and projects to government memorandums of understanding.
In a regional context separate from the announced cooperation topics, Xi said the Gulf “should not become an arena for major-power competition and geopolitical conflicts,” calling for disputes to be settled through political and diplomatic channels. The Associated Press reported additional attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz during October, making it the busiest month for reported attacks since the first weeks of the war in March. But the announced Oman-China talks covered technology, energy, logistics and food security, and the statements attributed to the sultan contained no direct reference to the Middle East conflict. China’s Foreign Ministry had announced that the official visit would take place from 1 to 2 November, and that Xi would hold talks with the sultan, who would also meet Premier Li Qiang. The Associated Press said China plans to send a special envoy to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia in early to mid-November.