JEDDAH: Omani and Belarusian companies signed seven memorandums of understanding covering food security, artificial intelligence, and smart city technologies during the Oman-Belarus Business Forum, held in Minsk.
The agreements cover AI applications for the water, agriculture, and soil sectors, as well as knowledge transfer, joint packaging, and manufacturing cooperation. Urban planning infrastructure and geographic information systems were also part of the agreements, according to the Oman News Agency, or ONA.
Total trade between Oman and Belarus reached approximately 374,000 Omani rials ($974,808) in 2025, while Belarusian investments in Oman stood at around 1.2 million rials across various sectors, ONA reported in April.
Oman’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources Saud bin Hamoud Al-Habsi said the Sultanate places significant emphasis on strengthening investment in the food security sector through the ministry’s strategic investment program, which has emerged as a key driver of growth in agriculture, fisheries, and food industries.
He noted that 493 investment projects with a total value of 1.8 billion rials were implemented under the program during the Tenth Five-Year Plan.
“Speaking at the forum, Al-Habsi reaffirmed Oman’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Belarus in agriculture, food security, food industries and innovation, calling for expanded technical and investment collaboration between the two countries to support food security and strengthen bilateral partnership,” ONA reported.
The agency further said that the minister stressed the importance of exchanging expertise and benefiting from successful experiences in developing the agricultural sector and adopting modern technologies, highlighting Oman’s focus on advancing agriculture, fisheries, and water resources as part of its sustainable development efforts.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov referred to the joint action plan between the two countries and the implementation steps that followed reciprocal visits by their leaders, highlighting the participation of representatives from agriculture, food security and information technology sectors, and pointed to opportunities to expand cooperation into petrochemicals, trade, infrastructure, and logistics.
ONA said that Belarusian Minister of Agriculture and Food Yuri Gorlov underscored the importance of Oman-Belarus relations, particularly with the commencement of exports of various Belarusian agricultural products to Oman.
“In his remarks, he praised Oman’s competitive advantages, which could help attract investment from Belarusian companies, as well as the high quality of Omani products currently participating in the ‘Belagro 2026’ exhibition being held in Minsk,” ONA reported.
Chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Faisal bin Abdullah Al-Rawas, said the forum reflects the shared commitment of both sides to transforming strong bilateral relations into practical economic partnerships.
Al-Rawas, who is also head of the Omani trade delegation, noted that the event follows the successful Oman-Belarus Business Forum held in Muscat in April, which helped strengthen ties between the private sectors of both countries.
He said Oman’s strategic location, advanced infrastructure, integrated logistics capabilities and attractive investment environment complement Belarus’s expertise in industrial, technological, and engineering sectors, creating a strong foundation for a new phase of cooperation and promising opportunities.
The OCCI chairman added that the chamber remains committed to supporting business communities in both countries and facilitating partnerships that contribute to sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity.
Director General of the National Export Promotion Center of Belarus Mikalai Barysevich stressed the importance of the forum in opening new horizons for trade partnerships between Omani and Belarusian companies.
