MUSCAT (The Thursday Times) — Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will begin a state visit to Oman on Monday, the Diwan of the Royal Court announced on Saturday, as the two countries try to turn a small trade relationship into a wider economic partnership.
The royal court said the visit, which starts on November 16, was meant to strengthen relations between the two countries and widen cooperation across various fields, and that talks would cover issues of mutual interest. Oman’s ambassador to Uzbekistan, Sayyidah Wafa bint Jabr al Busaidi, said the two-day visit would deepen political consultations and advance economic and investment cooperation, with agreements and memoranda of understanding in the political, economic, and development fields on the table.
Mirziyoyev returns to the Gulf days after the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, where he told world leaders Uzbekistan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2035 and would take over the chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea next year.
Small trade, big plans
Trade between the two countries is still modest. Omani officials say it passed $3 million in the first eight months of 2026, but the two governments are working on about 35 joint projects worth more than $5 billion. Omani figures show Uzbek investment registered in the sultanate rose from 2.564 million rials in 2024 to 2.909 million rials in 2025, spread across 57 companies working in trade, construction, manufacturing, and professional services.
Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Anwar bin Hilal al Jabri, called the visit an important milestone and said cooperation should move beyond conventional trade towards industrial partnerships, joint projects, and a stronger business presence in both markets. He named manufacturing, food processing, and industries linked to natural resources as areas of opportunity.
Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, Laziz Kudratov, said the two countries were preparing a preferential trade agreement and an updated investment protection agreement, and were working to turn existing agreements into a road map with specific projects, timelines, and responsible institutions.
Ports for a landlocked economy
Logistics is a large part of the push. Oman’s state logistics group Asyad signed an agreement with Uzbekistan’s investment ministry in October 2024 to explore dry ports, railways, warehouses, air freight, and e-commerce, and Asyad and its Uzbek partners have since taken majority stakes in two logistics companies in Tashkent. Oman Air began twice-weekly direct flights between Muscat and Tashkent in July.
For doubly landlocked Uzbekistan, Omani ports offer one of several possible outlets to the Indian Ocean as Central Asian states look for trade routes south. The visit comes days after Uzbekistan sought Pakistan Air Force expertise during defence talks with Pakistan’s air chief.
The sixth session of the Omani-Uzbek joint committee is due to meet in Muscat on Sunday, on the eve of the visit. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992.
