News & Events in Belarus

Lukashenko: SOHAR Freezone will hopefully become launching pad for Belarus-Oman cooperation

OMAN, 17 December (BelTA) – We hope that SOHAR Port and Freezone will become a reliable launching pad for cooperation between Belarus and Oman, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said in an entry that he made after visiting these facilities in the north of Oman, BelTA leaned.

“It was with interest that I got familiar with the infrastructure and capabilities of the SOHAR deep-sea port and freezone. These facilities are true gems of Oman, Al Batinah North Governorate and the new North-South route,” the head of state said. “Logistical and production capabilities make SOHAR Port and Freezone important tools to achieve the goals of sustainable development and prosperity of your country pursued by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq as part of the Oman Vision 2040 program.”

“Just as Duqm has taken Oman's space program to new heights, I am confident that SOHAR Port and Freezone will become a reliable launching pad for cooperation between Belarus and Oman,” reads the entry by Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The head of state was given a detailed tour of the port and freezone and was briefed about its operations and enterprises located there, logistical advantages, and infrastructure.

The parties discussed the prospects for utilizing local opportunities to promote Belarusian-Omani cooperation, to supply and re-export Belarusian products and set up joint ventures. Aleksandr Lukashenko compared notes with the members of the Belarusian delegation on the spot and gave a number of practical instructions.

The president visited a large enterprise that produces polymer goods. It is owned by a major Omani company that is engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, refining, petrochemicals, trade, alternative energy, power generation, and infrastructure.

 The day before, Aleksandr Lukashenko told journalists about the proposal of Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said to set up a hub of Belarusian goods in the country.

“It is very important for us to define a point, a port, or maybe we will look at something else, through which our technologies, which are needed in Oman, will come. Therefore, we will use Belarusian technologies to create joint ventures here and move west, east, north from here, from the Indian Ocean, selling our goods,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Sultan made a very good proposal to create a hub here, a center of Belarusian goods. I told him honestly yesterday that we learned to produce a lot of things but are yet to learn to trade. Meanwhile, Omani people have been involved in commerce since ancient times. They promised to help us in this respect.”

In an interview with the media Belarusian Industry Minister Aleksandr Yefimov said that Belarus hopes to use SOHAR Port and Freezone for joint projects with Oman. “The purpose of the visit to Port and Freezone is to select a site for joint ventures and the project to establish a hub of Belarusian industrial goods in the Sultanate of Oman in order to promote our goods to the markets of third countries,” the minister said.

He noted that the port is attractive in terms of logistics. “That's the way it has been historically. It remains so to this day. Therefore, taking into account its logistical position, we would be interested to have our industrial hub in this port. We are mainly considering the freezone sites for future joint ventures,” Aleksandr Yefimov said.

According to the minister, the list of goods that can be produced in Oman is quite extensive. “These are the goods for domestic goods. They need agricultural goods, tractors, everything related to this: trailed, mounted equipment, utilities, road-building equipment,” he said. “Goods that can be redirected to the markets of third countries have a great potential. In this respect the list is even more extensive. This is quarry and  cargo trucks, everything related to logistics infrastructure. We are ready to offer our technologies and goods to our Omani partners for sale on their territory.”

SOHAR Port was built in 2002 and is located southeast of the Strait of Hormuz, on the Gulf of Oman. It handles more than 1 million tonnes of sea cargo per week and about 3,500 vessels per year.SOHAR Freezone was established in 2010 next to the port.The deep-water port and the adjacent freezone are located in the administrative center of Al Batinah North Governorate, halfway between the cities of Dubai (UAE) and Muscat (Oman). They occupy the territory of 45 square kilometers. SOHAR Freezone is one of four special economic zones on the territory of Oman, in addition to Salalah Free Zone, Al Muzanah Free Zone on the border with Yemen, and Al Duqm City that also has the status of FEZ. SOHAR Port and Freezone is managed by SOHAR Industrial Port Company (SIPC) and is a joint venture between the Port of Rotterdam and the Sultanate of Oman.

Since its establishment, SOHAR Port and Freezone has attracted over $26 billion in investments and has become one of the most successful industrial zones in the Gulf region. It features the enterprises of petrochemical, logistics, plastics, metallurgy, mining, food and automotive industries.

The freezone offers convenient logistics, zero import and re-export duties, exemption from corporate income taxes for up to 25 years and no personal income tax. Products manufactured here receive a number of benefits under Oman's intergovernmental agreements.

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