Omani-Yemeni political consultative committee discusses means to bolster bilateral ties

Jordanian information minister receives message from Omani counterpart

Muscat hosts workshop on combating financing terrorism, money laundering

Report on Omani economic sectors

HE Yousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, received Dr Ali Muthana Hassan, Deputy Foreign Minister of Yemen.

Ties between the two brotherly countries and ways of enhancing them in various political and economic spheres in the joint interest were discussed.

The meeting was attended by HE Sayyid Badr Bin Hamad Bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Bin Yousuf Al Harthy, Head of the Arab Department at the foreign ministry, Talib Bin Miran Al Raisi, Head of the Economic and Technical Cooperation Department, Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Ba’adi, Sultanate’s ambassador to the Yemeni Republic, Ahmed Bin Barkat Al Ibrahim, Head of Consular Department, other officials at the Foreign Ministry, Abdul Rahman Khamis Ubaid, Yemen’s Ambassador to the Sultanate and the delegation accompanying the guest.

HE Eng. Ahmed Bin Hassan Al Dheeb, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, also received the Yemeni Deputy Foreign Minister. They reviewed bilateral trade and economic ties, how to boost them, scopes of cooperation, cooperation in trade and industrial fields and encouraging bilateral investments.

The fourth two-day meeting for the political consultative committee between the Sultanate and Yemen began at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Omani side to the meeting was led by HE Sayyid Badr Bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Secretary-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Yemeni side was led by Dr Ali Muthana Hassan, Yemen’s Deputy Foreign Minister.

Hassan said that the committee reviewed the relations between the two countries, the progress of the joint committee for political consultations and a number of issues of joint interest.

The meeting also covered cooperation issues, including topics under study by the Joint Omani-Yemeni committee and means of boosting cooperation in different domains.

From the Omani side, the meeting was attended by HE Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Badi, the Sultanate’s ambassador to Yemen, Ahmed Bin Yousef Al Harthy, Head of the Arab Department, Talib Bin Miran Al Raisi, Head of Economic and Technical Cooperation Department, and other officials. HE Abdul Rahman Khamis Ubaid, Yemen’s Ambassador to the Sultanate was also present.

Meanwhile, Jordanian Information Minister Nasser Jouda received a written message from his Omani counterpart Mohammad al-Rashedi on means to bolster bilateral ties.

The message was conveyed by Omani Charge d' Affaires in Amman Ali Bin Soliman al-Daramki during a meeting with the Jordanian minister. The meeting tackled means to foster bilateral ties.

The Jordanian minister praised the wise policy of Omani Sultan Qaboos Bi Said.

The joint committee assigned to study the income tax draft law held its third regular meeting of the first annual sitting of the sixth term in the presence of Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed al Isa'ee, Majlis Chairman and Abd al Qader bin Salim A’Dhahab, Majlis Secretary-General.

During the meeting, which was chaired by Dr. Fuad bin Ja'afer Sagwani, committee chairman, the Majlis chairman familiarized himself with the joint committee efforts and work and its results and visions during its study of the income tax draft law, which was referred by Council of Ministers.

The Majlis Chairman stressed the importance that draft law should be given sufficient time to study and search to achieve the goals of its preparation and presentation to the Majlis and to enable the committee to collect the important requirements of the draft law study and follow it up.

He also stressed the importance of the gathered visions and view points through the committee's hosting and meetings with officials of the General Secretariat for taxation at the Finance Ministry, Oman Chamber for Commerce and Industry, the Omani Center for Investment Promotion and Exports Development and other authorities and specialists.

On his turn, the Majlis Secretary-General pointed to the importance of focusing on the procedural and legal aspects of the income tax draft law articles.

The Sultanate has not reported any major instance of money laundering and terror funding during the past couple of years.

In exclusive comments to Oman Tribune, HE Hamoud Bin Sangour Al Zadjali, Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) and member of the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering, said: "Not a single instance of money laundering and terror funding has been detected until now."

The Sultanate, through its different agencies like Royal Oman Police (ROP), Public Prosecutor’s office, the Central Bank of Oman and the banks, has been taking measures to curb money laundering and terror funding. "All these authorities abide by a special law, which has been issued to curb money laundering and terror funding," he said.

The Sultanate, which has been evaluated by an International Committee three years ago, has recorded impressive results for its efforts in curbing money laundering and terror funding. "We expect another evaluation in 2009. The committee is expected to examine the existing procedures and the legal steps taken by the Sultanate," he said.

On the efforts made by the Sultanate to strengthen the mechanism to curb money laundering and terror funding, he said: "We are strengthening our technological systems. And we are asking banks to strengthen their computer systems and also to educate their staff on ways to detect instances of money laundering and terror funding." The banks have set up special units to look into any unusual transactions in the accounts of their customers. "If they find any unusual transaction, they have to report to ROP and CBO," he added.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural session of the two-day workshop on combating the financing of terrorism and money laundering organized by National Committee for Combating Money Laundering, in collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Zadjali said he hoped that the workshop would educate the staff in various organizations on ways to combat money laundering and terror funding.

Officials from various organizations such as the ROP and banks are attending the workshop. Dirk Jules Merck from the UN office on Drugs and Crime said the workshop was part of a training program aimed at improving the efforts of various institutions to combat money laundering and terror funding.

The two-day workshop aimed to familiarize supervisors and those concerned at the audit and legal authorities on combating money laundering and financing terrorism field to improve their performance. The workshop in which 38 participants took part from the National Economy Ministry, Commerce and Industry Ministry, Justice Ministry, Housing Ministry, Central Bank of Oman, Capital Market Authority, General Secretariat for Taxation, Royal Oman Police, the General Prosecution and the UN Bureau discussed working papers on the organized legal frameworks to combat money laundering and financing terrorism and the Sultanate's efforts in this respect.

It is worth mentioning that the workshop came within the training programs organized by the National Committee for Combating Money Laundering in co-operation with the UN Bureau concerned with Drugs and Crime to improve the performance of the audit and legal institutions, in addition to law enforcement on combating money laundering and financing terrorism.

An overview of Omani economic sectors:

The oil sector:

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) - which produces around 89% of the Sultanate’s crude and oil condensates - and the other oil companies are moving ahead with their plans and efforts to increase oil production capacity and offset the relative decline in productivity the country has been witnessing since 2002. In 2005 average daily production totaled 774, 800 barrels, including 66,300 barrels of oil condensates. Production has increased modestly since Occidental began producing from the Mukhaiznah field in September 2005.

Around 718,100 barrels of oil per day were exported in 2005. Most of it (32.2%) went to China, while the remainder was exported to Thailand (16.8%), Japan (16.4%), South Korea (15%) and several other countries. The Oman Oil Refinery Company received around 86,600 barrels per day to be refined for local consumption, while the surplus was exported.

The Sultanate has crude oil and oil condensate reserves totaling over 4,803 million barrels, with PDO’s reserves accounting for over 92% of this figure. In 2005 four prospecting agreements were signed: with India’s Reliance Industries in Concession Area 18 in the Gulf of Oman, with the Irish Company Circle Oil in Concession Area 49 in the Governorate of Dhofar and the offshore Concession Area 52 in the sea between Sawqarah Bay and the Omani-Yemeni marine territorial border, and with the Swedish company Gott Oil and the Danish company Odin Energy in Concession Area 15 in the Dhahirah Region. These companies will carry out a series of exploration programs over a three-year period.

The gas sector:

The natural gas sector grew by around 21.6% a year during the Sixth Five-year Plan (2001- 2005), considerably higher than the projected growth of 16.6%. Natural gas revenues in the 2006 budget amounted to RO394 million - some 44.5% higher than the 2005 budget gas revenues, which totaled RO 273 million. In 2005 gas contributed 9% to the budget revenues, while in 2006 they account for 11%.

The Sultanate’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production has increased significantly - especially since the third LNG train in Qalhat went into actual production with an annual productive capacity of 3.5 million tonnes, boosting the country’s natural gas production to 10.1 million tonnes a year. The natural gas sector’s contribution to GDP is expected to increase to around 9.2% by 2010. Its added value is also set to rise, particularly with the addition of the gas tankers “Ibri” and “Ibra” to the Oman Shipping Company’s fleet in June 2006; these new vessels will transport shipments of Omani gas to customers in Asia, Europe and the United States.

In 2005 the Sultanate produced around 917,746 million cubic feet of natural gas, comprising 270,562 million cubic feet of associated gas and 647,184 million cubic feet of non-associated gas. Average daily production was about 2,514.4 million cubic feet - a rise of 7.61% compared with the 2004 figure. LNG exports in 2005 totaled around 6.98 million metric tonnes. A further 182,000 metric tonnes of gas liquids was exported to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while 40,910 million cubic feet of natural gas was exported to the UAE through the government gas line system, which is managed by the Oman Gas Company.

Output is set to receive an additional boost when a Thai company – PTTEP - becomes involved in gas production in Oman in 2006. The Sultanate currently has proven gas reserves in excess of 24 trillion cubic feet, in addition to a further 33.8 trillion cubic feet of expected reserves.

Agriculture sector:

Agriculture is among the oldest and most important sector of the Omani economy. They play a vital part in feeding the population, providing employment for large numbers of Omanis and helping to boost the country’s GDP. The Batinah Region has the most date palms, mango and lime trees, while the Governorate of Dhofar has the most coconut palms.

Agricultural advice and guidance programs have been adopted to promote the use of high-quality fertilizers and seeds, modern irrigation systems have been introduced on the farms and 71 barriers have been built to provide protection against wadi floods.

Water resources:

Oman is in the world’s arid belt and depends on groundwater and its limited rainfall (of around 100mm annually) for around 65% of its water supplies. The demand for water continues to rise, with desalinated water making up the remaining 35%.

A national water resources conservation plan has been drawn up to further rationalize and improve water consumption practices and explore for new groundwater reserves. At the same time, desalination research continues. Following the completion of the well and falaj (water channel) counting project and the creation of a network of 4,640 water monitoring stations, the Sultanate now has a complete, up-to-date and properly documented database covering all the country’s available and potential water resources, together with details of their status and conditions. Studies on new ways of rationalizing water consumption are ongoing.

Aflag Wells and Dams: Oman’s aflaj system is an ancient but effective method of water management. Individual falaj, or water channels, together form the aflaj network, an interconnected system of water channels extending from the mountain tops and wadis to populated areas. Oman’s aflaj are dug in such a way as to ensure that the water is carried by the earth’s gravity and the natural incline of the land over long distances without using pumps or any other mechanical means.

The falaj system is thousands of years old. There are 4,112 aflaj in the Sultanate, 3,017 of which are currently in operation. The maintenance of these structures is undertaken by the government according to an annual timetable which adjusts its priorities according to the structures; many of them sustain damage as a result of heavy rainfall, or are affected by groundwater levels or water consumption. Maintenance work was carried out on 195 aflaj; this involved repairs to the channels themselves, the sinking of new auxiliary wells, or the excavation of new tributaries or basins to increase the water levels in the channels. The water of each falaj is allocated on an equitable basis to all users, in accordance with certain fixed and recognized rules, passed down through the generations. In July 2006, the International Heritage Committee selected five Omani aflaj to be included under UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The aflaj are: Dareez at Nizwa, Khatmin at Birkat al Mauz, Malki at Izki, Maisir at Rustaq and Jaylah in the Eastern Hajar.

Wells are a vital source of water. The Wells Inventory project provided a comprehensive picture of the wells, their locations, the well pumps, the quality of the water and the uses of each well. There are 127,000 wells in the Sultanate distributed over 128 catchment areas. New wells are subject to conditions of the Law on the Conservation of Water Resources, Royal Decree No. 29/2000. Licenses to drill new wells or deepen or replace existing wells are issued by the Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment and Water Resources. Current projects include the drilling of 56 public drinking water wells in various parts of the country.

Dams play an important role in the development of water resources. There are three types of dams. The 1st type is the groundwater recharge dam (there are 25 in the country); the 2nd is the small surface storage dam (currently 58), while 3rd is the flood protection dam of which there are 12. Some 42 potential new dam sites have been identified in various wadis in the Sultanate.

The first phase of the Wadi Dhayqah dam in the wilayat of Quriyat - began this year. When completed it will supply the Governorate of Muscat with around 35 million cubic meters of water for various uses. The water situation is constantly being reviewed through an integrated system of 4,640 observation points, which monitor the rainfall, dams, aflaj, springs, dams, wells and creeks and supply a database with up-to-date, accurate information.

Groundwater Resources:

The Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment and Water Resources has conducted several groundwater exploration projects throughout the Sultanate where exploration wells were drilled to study the availability and characteristics of groundwater resources in terms of its quantity and quality. Several schemes were carried out in the South Batinah, the Dhahirah, Dhofar, the Sharqiyah, Dakhiliyah and in the desert area in the Wusta Region to study and monitor the water situation. All major operations have now been completed on the two main groundwater projects - the Hawdh al Masarrat Water Supply Scheme and on the Sharqiyah Sands aquifers.

Pipelines have been laid and water is currently being supplied to more than 10,000 houses. Water suitable for agricultural use has been discovered in the Nejd in the Dhofar, while potable groundwater stocks have been found in Wadi Rawnab in the Wusta Region.

Renewable energy:

Oman enjoys sunny weather throughout the year in addition to monsoon winds, providing conditions that can be utilized in energy generation projects. Both solar and wind energy are clean, renewable sources that can be used in an increasing number of projects, particularly in the more remote and inaccessible areas. Solar energy has been used to power parking meters in the capital area, as well as in large projects such as a water desalination plant, and to generate electricity for lighting projects in some remote areas of the North Batinah and power radio and television booster stations in several regions, including remote mountain areas.

Wind energy is used to power the water pump in the Hailat al Rakah desalination plant.

Mineral resources:

The Sultanate’s mineral resources include chromite, dolomite, zinc, limestone, gypsum, silica, copper, gold, cobalt and iron, to name but a few. Several industries have grown up around them as part of the national development process which, in turn, have boosted the minerals sector’s contribution to the nation’s GDP as well as providing jobs for Omanis.

Copper has been mined in Oman for thousands of years. The mineral sector’s operations include mining and quarrying. Several projects have recently been completed including: an economic feasibility study on silica ore in Wadi Buwa and Abutan in the Wusta Region, which confirmed that there were exploitable reserves of around 28 million tonnes at the two sites; a feasibility study on the production of magnesium metal from dolomite ore; a draft study on processing limestone derivatives; a project to produce geological maps of the Sharqiyah Region (Ibra); economic feasibility studies on the exploitation of gold and copper ores in the Ghaizeen area; a study on raw materials in the wilayats of Duqm and Sur for use in the Sultanate’s cement industry; and a study on the construction of a new minerals laboratory in Ghala in the Governorate of Muscat.