HE Dr. Salem ben Nasser Al Ismaily, Chairman of Ithraa, Oman’s investment promotion and export development agency welcomed Brunei trade delegation headed by HE Pehin Dato Lim Jock Seng, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade and Dato Seri Setia (Dr) AWG. HE Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy & Industry to Ithraa’s office in Muscat on Wednesday 30 March, during their visit to Oman to attend the 16th Bilateral Consultative Meeting between Oman and Brunei.
Discussions focused on increasing trade and investment links as well as opportunities open to Omani non-oil exporters looking to improve commercial ties with Brunei and further penetrate the burgeoning ASEAN market.
Ithraa organized a highly successful trade mission to Bandar Seri Begawan in April 2014, which included stakeholders from the Oman Food Investment Holding Company; The Public Authority for Stores & Food Reserve; Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Special Economic Zone Authority Duqm; The Public Establishment for Industrial Estates; The State General Reserve Fund; Oman Oil Company; Takamul Investment; and Al Madina Real Estate.
Brunei’s economy is dominated by the oil and gas sector, which provides over 60% of GDP and more than 90% of foreign exports. While developing the downstream side of oil and gas, the Brunei government is also actively encouraging economic diversification, including the development of a knowledge economy.
On the trade front, Ithraa is fully committed to opening new markets for Omani businesses in Southeast Asia, which will sustain and create local jobs and prosperity. If the ten ASEAN states were a single country it would already be the seventh-largest economy in the world, and projected to rank as the fourth-largest economy by 2050. Already some 67 million households in ASEAN states are part of the consuming class, with incomes exceeding the level at which they can begin to make significant discretionary purchases. That number could almost double to 125 million households by 2025, making Brunei and its ASEAN partners a pivotal consumer market of the future, offering Omani non-oil exporters exceptional opportunities.