Oman concludes free trade agreement with USA
Oman-USA, Economics, 10/4/2005

The US government and the Sultanate on Oman on Monday concluded their negotiations and reached an agreement on bilateral free trade exchange.

The American trade attache Rob Portman said in a joint press conference with the Omani minister of commerce and the economy Maqboul Bin Ali Bin Sultan "we have finalized a complete and important trade agreement that will encourage exchanges between our two countries," considering that this treaty will be an "example" to be followed for other agreements.

Portman stressed that the new agreement falls in the course of the objective set by the American President George W. Bush to establish a free trade exchange area in all parts of the Middle East by the fall of 2013, hoping that the Congress will approve it quickly.

Two-way trade in goods between the United States and Oman totaled $748 million in 2004, and U.S. foreign direct investment in 2003 in Oman was $358 million, according to a USTR fact sheet.

For his part, Bin Sultan said that "the negotiations only lasted for seven months," noting that the good relations between the two countries allowed quick conclusion to the talks.

Previous Stories:
  Sultan Qaboos oppoints a woman ambassador to Washington   (9/28/2005)
  American-Omani free trade agreement negotiations starts Saturday   (3/12/2005)
  Oman denies the involvement of three of its citizens in US attacks   (9/20/2001)

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