Foreign relations of Oman

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When Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said assumed power in 1970, Oman had limited contacts with the outside world, including neighbouring Arab states. A special treaty relationship permitted the United Kingdom close involvement in Oman's civil and military affairs. Ties with the United Kingdom remained very close throughout Sultan Qaboos' reign, along with strong ties to the United States.

The Sultanate of Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab World. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia on the western side, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the northwest and Yemen in the southwest. Oman has two enclaves (Madha and the Musandam peninsula) within the land borders of the UAE. Oman also has maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan. The Arabian Sea lies to Oman's southeast and the Gulf of Oman to the northeast. Although partially under Portuguese occupation during the 16th to mid-17th century, Oman had its own empire in East Africa from the early 18th to the mid-19th century. Oman has a population of 4.2 million (2018). Foreign expatriates are estimated to make up to 45 per cent of the population. Administratively, Oman is divided into six regions. Its national day, 18 November, is the birthday of the former Sultan, HM Qaboos bin Said Al-Said. Oman's capital is Muscat on the northern coast.

Political overview

Since 1969, Oman has pursued a moderate foreign policy and expanded its diplomatic relations dramatically. It supported the 1979 Camp David Accords and was one of three Arab League states, along with Somalia and Sudan, which did not break relations with Egypt after the signing of the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in 1979.[1] During the Persian Gulf crisis[which?], Oman assisted the United Nations coalition effort. Oman has developed close ties to its neighbours; it joined the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council when it was established in 1980.

Oman has traditionally supported Middle East peace initiatives, as it did those in 1983. In April 1994, Oman hosted the plenary meeting of the Water Working Group of the peace process, the first Persian Gulf state to do so.

The Sixth International Conference in support of the Palestinian Intifada, Tehran, 21 February 2017

During the Cold War period, Oman avoided relations with communist countries because of the communist support for the insurgency in Dhofar. In recent years, Oman has undertaken diplomatic initiatives in the Central Asian republics, particularly in Kazakhstan, where it is involved in a joint oil pipeline project. In addition, Oman maintains good relations with Iran, its north-eastern neighbor across the Gulf of Oman, and the two countries regularly exchange delegations. Oman is an active member in international and regional organizations, notably the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Its foreign policy is overseen by its Foreign Ministry.

In 2023, Oman established foreign relations with the Holy See, with a signing ceremony taking place at the headquarters of the Sultanate's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York City.[2]

International disputes

The northern boundary with the United Arab Emirates has not been bilaterally defined; the northern section in the Musandam Peninsula is an administrative boundary.

Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Oman maintains diplomatic relations with:

More information #, Country ...
# Country Date[3][4]
1 United Kingdom 2 May 1971
2 India 25 July 1971[5]
3 Iran 26 August 1971[6]
4 Pakistan 15 October 1971[7]
5 Saudi Arabia 14 December 1971[8]
6 Tunisia December 1971
7 Kuwait 1 January 1972
8 Netherlands 1 January 1972
9 France 5 January 1972[9]
10 Italy 26 January 1972[10]
11 Egypt 20 March 1972[11]
12 United States 17 April 1972[12]
13 Japan 8 May 1972[13]
14 Germany 16 May 1972[14]
15 Jordan 11 June 1972[15]
16 Bahrain 13 June 1972
17 Qatar 27 June 1972[16]
18 Spain 10 November 1972[17]
19 Lebanon 2 January 1973[18]
20 Morocco 10 March 1973[19]
21 Finland 1 April 1973[20]
22 United Arab Emirates 1 April 1973[21]
23 Turkey 18 June 1973[22]
24  Switzerland 12 September 1973[23]
25 Greece 1 October 1973[24]
26 Austria 18 December 1973[25]
27 Canada 2 February 1974[26]
28 Sweden 15 March 1974[27]
29 South Korea 28 March 1974
30 Romania 1 May 1974
31 Serbia 4 May 1974[28]
32 Yemen 12 May 1974
33 Belgium 22 May 1974[29]
34 Argentina 18 June 1974[30]
35 Brazil 3 July 1974[31]
36 Algeria September 1974[32]
37 Malta 4 November 1974[33]
38 Bangladesh 18 December 1974[34]
39 Burundi 28 February 1975
40 Mexico 31 July 1975[35]
41 Senegal 25 December 1975[36]
42 Iraq 7 January 1976
43 Chile 23 February 1976[37]
44 Kenya 4 March 1976[37]
45   Nepal 21 January 1977
46 Sudan 17 March 1977[38]
47 Djibouti 16 November 1977[39]
48 Indonesia 5 December 1977
49 Mauritania 1977
50 China 25 May 1978
51 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1978
52 Cyprus 1978
53 Mali 2 March 1979
54 Denmark 9 July 1979[40]
55 Portugal 26 October 1979[41]
56 Gambia 4 February 1980
57 Norway 15 April 1980
58 Thailand 30 July 1980[42]
59 Niger 3 September 1980[43]
60 Luxembourg 15 September 1980
61 Philippines 6 October 1980
62 Somalia 1980
63 Comoros 9 January 1981
64 Tanzania 9 January 1981[44]
65 Nigeria 18 January 1981
66 Australia 8 February 1981[45]
67 Guinea 17 February 1981
68 Sri Lanka 17 February 1981
69 Maldives 20 February 1981
70 Gabon 30 March 1981[46]
71 Burkina Faso 5 October 1981[47]
72 Malaysia 15 January 1982
73 Zambia 1 June 1982
74 Zimbabwe 15 June 1982[48]
75 Ecuador 9 July 1982
76 Sierra Leone 10 December 1982[49]
77 Seychelles 13 April 1983[50]
78 Brunei 24 March 1984
79 Saint Lucia 28 March 1984
80 Singapore 21 February 1985[51]
81 Colombia 25 July 1985
82 New Zealand 5 September 1985[52]
83 Russia 26 September 1985
84 Peru 14 May 1986
85 Jamaica 27 May 1986
86 Venezuela 29 September 1986[53]
87 Bolivia 16 December 1986
88 Uruguay 6 April 1987
89 Ireland 8 July 1987
90 Syria 19 December 1987
91 Uganda 1987
92 Chad 21 January 1989
State of Palestine 23 January 1989
93 Ghana 1 March 1989
94 Poland 24 January 1990
95 Bulgaria 17 June 1990
96 Hungary 19 June 1990
97 Ivory Coast 28 January 1991
98 Mauritius 31 January 1991
99 Nicaragua 26 September 1991[54]
100 Iceland 26 February 1992[55]
101 Uzbekistan 22 April 1992
102 Kazakhstan 27 April 1992
103 Mongolia 27 April 1992
104 Kyrgyzstan 18 May 1992
105 Ukraine 19 May 1992
106 North Korea 20 May 1992[56]
107 Turkmenistan 29 May 1992
108 Vietnam 9 June 1992
109 Moldova 25 June 1992
110 Armenia 7 July 1992
111 Azerbaijan 13 July 1992
112 Belarus 23 July 1992
113 Guinea-Bissau 5 August 1992
114 Lithuania 22 September 1992
115 Estonia 23 September 1992
116 Albania 7 December 1992
117 Latvia 5 February 1993
118 Czech Republic 1 March 1993
119 Slovakia 3 March 1993
120 Mozambique 4 May 1993
121 Guatemala 13 October 1993
122 Panama 25 February 1994
123 Eritrea 30 April 1994[57]
124 Cuba 23 May 1994
125 Ethiopia 7 February 1995
126 South Africa 4 October 1995[58]
127 Slovenia 13 December 1995[59]
128 North Macedonia 28 December 1995
129 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 January 1996[60]
130 Guyana 17 January 1996
131 Croatia 30 June 1997
132 São Tomé and Príncipe 15 September 1997
133 Rwanda March 1998[61]
134 Cameroon 30 November 1998
135 Suriname 13 July 1999
136 Laos 9 March 2005
137 Afghanistan 25 March 2005[62]
138 Paraguay 15 November 2005
139 Angola 12 December 2005[63]
140 Belize 3 March 2006
141 Cape Verde 22 May 2006
142 Antigua and Barbuda 5 October 2006
143 Montenegro 11 April 2007
144 Tajikistan 15 November 2007
145 Costa Rica 19 December 2007
146 Andorra 10 March 2008
147 El Salvador 14 April 2008
148 Georgia 16 April 2008
149 Cambodia 16 November 2009
150 Dominican Republic 17 March 2010
151 Fiji 12 July 2010
152 Myanmar 14 December 2010
Kosovo 4 February 2011[64]
153 Monaco 20 February 2013
154 Bhutan 15 March 2013
155 Eswatini 18 March 2013
156 South Sudan 11 June 2013
157 Madagascar 29 June 2016
158 Malawi 7 December 2016
159 Togo 5 June 2017
160 Namibia 27 February 2018
161 Benin 16 November 2018
162 San Marino 26 November 2018
163 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 April 2019
164 Timor-Leste 30 March 2022
165 Bahamas 10 January 2023
Holy See 23 February 2023
166 Trinidad and Tobago 27 March 2023
167 Solomon Islands 19 September 2023
168 Vanuatu 18 November 2023[65]
169 Liechtenstein 4 March 2024[66]
170 Tonga 14 March 2024
171 Equatorial Guinea 1 April 2024
172 Kiribati 2 July 2024
173 Nauru 15 May 2025
174 Saint Kitts and Nevis 12 August 2025
175 Botswana 14 October 2025
176 Libya Unknown
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Bilateral relations

More information Country, Formal Relations Began ...
Country Formal Relations Began Notes
Azerbaijan 13 July 1992
  • The Sultanate of Oman recognized the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the Soviet Union on 30 December 1991.[67]
  • Both countries established diplomatic relations on 13 July 1992[68]
Brunei24 March 1984Both countries established diplomatic relations on 24 March 1984[69]

See Brunei–Oman relations

Brunei has an embassy in Muscat, and Oman has an embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan.[70] Relations have been established since 24 March 1984. Both countries are former protectorates of European powers (the British for Brunei and first the Portuguese and later the British for Oman), and both are now governed by an Islamic absolute monarchy.[70][71][72]

Canada2 February 1974

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 2 February 1974[26]

In September 2016, Oman played an important role in securing the release of Homa Hoodfar, an Iranian-Canadian citizen and professor at Concordia University. She had been held prisoner in Iran's Evin Prison since 6 June 2016. This happened soon after a secretive meeting between Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and Oman's Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.[73]

China25 May 1978Both countries established diplomatic relations on 25 May 1978[74]
  • China has an embassy in Muscat.
  • Oman has an embassy in Beijing.

In June 2020, Oman was one of 53 countries that backed the Hong Kong national security law at the United Nations.[75]

Egypt27 November 1972

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 27 November 1972[76]

Oman was the only Arab state besides Sudan under Jaafar Nimeiry to maintain good relations with Anwar al Sadat after Egypt recognized Israel. An NGO which launched a probe into foreign funding of organizations in Egypt found that Oman, along with the United Arab Emirates, donated $14.1 million to the Mohamed Alaa Mubarak institute, which was named after Hosni Mubarak's grandson.[77]

 Germany 16 May 1972 Both countries established diplomatic relations on 16 May 1972[14]

See Germany–Oman relations

  • Germany has an embassy in Muscat.
  • Oman has an embassy in Berlin.
India25 July 1971Both countries established diplomatic relations on 25 July 1971, when the level of Indian representation was raised to embassy.[5]

See India-Oman relations

India has an embassy in Muscat, Oman. The Indian consulate was opened in Muscat in February 1955, and five years later it was upgraded to a consulate general and later developed into a full-fledged embassy in 1971. The first ambassador of India arrived in Muscat in 1973. Oman established its embassy in New Delhi in 1972 and a consulate general in Mumbai in 1976.

India has been considering the construction of a 1,100-km-long underwater gas pipeline from Oman for transporting natural gas. Called the South Asia Gas Enterprise (SAGE), it will act as an alternative to the Iran–Pakistan–India pipeline. The proposed sub-sea pipeline will meet the additional gas requirement of the UAE, Oman, and India, besides easing gas transportation issues of producing countries like Turkmenistan, Iran and Qatar. The project has been slow in materialising although it was first mooted in 1985.[78][79][80][81]

$5.6 bn Oman-India energy pipeline plans progressing: Fox Petroleum Group envisions a roughly five-year timeframe for the execution of the pipeline project.[82]

Ajay Kumar, the chairman and managing director of Fox Petroleum, based in New Delhi, which is an associate company of Fox Petroleum FZC in the UAE, said that Mr Modi had "fired the best weapon of economic development and growth". "He has given a red carpet for global players to invest in India," Mr Kumar added. "It will boost all sectors of industry – especially for small-scale manufacturing units and heavy industries too. Ajay Kumar, chairman and managing director of Fox Petroleum, said, “In the last few years, deepsea gas pipeline technology has matured. Since India has serious security concerns with regard to pipeline projects over land, a deepsea pipeline is probably the most promising option. This 1,600-kilometer OIMPP project intends to transport 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to India over a period of 20 years. The pipeline is planned to be about 1,300 kilometers long in Phase I, and 300 kilometers more to connect Mumbai, laid at a depth of 3,400 meters below the seabed. It will connect the Middle East Compression Station near Oman with the receiving terminal near Gujarat.”

A week prior to the Iran-P5+1 Framework Agreement, Fox Petroleum issued a proposal for the construction of the Oman-India Multi-Purpose Pipeline (OIMPP), a deep water pipeline system to transport Iranian natural gas via Oman to a receiving terminal on the coast of India's Gujarat state. Costing an estimated $5.6 billion, the 1,600 km pipeline would transport 8 trillion cubic meters over a 20-year period. Citing recent advances in deep-sea pipeline technology, Fox Petroleum's chairman asserted that gas imports to India via OIMPP would be less expensive than India's LNG imports by $1.5–2 per million BTU. The same pipeline system could also be used to transport natural gas from Qatar to India, thereby creating a nexus of Persian Gulf natural gas suppliers oriented toward supplying the world's fast growing major economy. And, as Modi intimated in Ashgabat the potential would even exist for Turkmenistan to export its gas to India across Iran and via the undersea pipeline.

Source: [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87]

Iran 26 August 1971 See Iran–Oman relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 26 August 1971[6]

Kenya4 March 1976Both countries established diplomatic relations on 4 March 1976[37]

See Kenya–Oman relations

  • Kenya has an embassy in Muscat.
  • Oman has an embassy in Nairobi.
Malaysia15 January 1982See Malaysia–Oman relations

Malaysia and Oman established diplomatic relations on 15 January 1982.[88] Since that, bilateral trade between Malaysia and Oman stood at nearly RM500 million during January–October 2010, with Malaysia's main exports to Oman being edible oil, machinery, appliances and parts, wood products, electrical and electronic products.

Mexico31 July 1975Both countries established diplomatic relations on 31 July 1975[35]

See Mexico–Oman relations

  • Mexico is accredited to Oman from its embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and maintains an honorary consulate in Muscat.[89]
  • Oman is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, D.C., United States and maintains an honorary consulate in Mexico City.[90]
Pakistan15 October 1971Both countries established diplomatic relations on 15 October 1971, when Pakistani Consulate-General in Muscat upgraded to Embassy[7]

See Oman–Pakistan relations

The relationship between Islamabad and Muscat is warm, because it is the nearest Arab country to Pakistan and the fact that some 30% of Omanis are of Balochi origin from Pakistan's Balochistan province, having settled in Oman over a hundred years ago. In 1958 Gwadar was part of Oman but was transferred to Pakistan in that year.

Qatar27 June 1972See Oman–Qatar relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 27 June 1972[16]

  • Oman has an embassy in Doha.
  • Qatar has an embassy in Muscat.
Russia26 September 1985See Oman–Russia relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 26 September 1985[91]

  • Oman has an embassy Moscow.
  • Russia has an embassy in Muscat.
Saudi Arabia14 December 1971See Oman–Saudi Arabia relations

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 14 December 1971[8]

  • Oman has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jeddah.
  • Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Muscat.
South Korea28 March 1974

Both countries established diplomatic relations on 28 March 1974[92]

The Republic of Korea-Oman Agreement on the mutual waiver of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic, official, special and service passports came into effect on 11 April 2015. The agreement allowed citizens of the two countries with valid diplomatic, official, special, or service passports to stay in each other's territories without visa for up to 90 days. The agreement was made to help promote inter-governmental and people-to-people exchanges as well as substantive cooperation between the two countries.[93]

United Arab Emirates1 April 1973See Oman–United Arab Emirates relations

Both countries established full diplomatic relations on 1 April 1973[21]

In December 2010, Oman discovered a spy network operated by the United Arab Emirates which collected information on Oman's military and government. They were reportedly interested in who would replace Qaboos as his heir and about Oman's relations with Iran.[94][95] Kuwait mediated in the dispute.[96]

United Kingdom28 June 1971See Oman–United Kingdom relations
Omani Sultanate Haitham bin Tariq with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in 10 Downing Street, August 2024.

Oman established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 21 May 1971.

  • Oman maintains an embassy in London.[97]
  • The United Kingdom is accredited to Oman through its embassy in Muscat.[98]

The UK governed Oman from 1891 until 1951, when Oman achieved full independence.[99]

Both countries share common membership of the World Trade Organization. Bilaterally the two countries have a Comprehensive Agreement on Enduring Friendship and Bilateral Cooperation,[100] a Double Taxation Agreement,[101] an Investment Agreement,[102] and a Mutual Defence Agreement.[103] Both countries are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement.[104]

United States17 April 1972Both countries established diplomatic relations on 17 April 1972[12]

See Oman–United States relations

In 1974 and April 1983, Sultan Qaboos of Oman made state visits to the United States. Vice President George H. Bush visited Oman in 1984 and 1986, and President Bill Clinton visited briefly in March 2000. Vice President Dick Cheney visited Oman in 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2008. In March 2005, the U.S. and Oman launched negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement that were successfully concluded in October 2005. The FTA was signed on 19 January 2006, and is pending implementation.

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See also

References

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