Dubai Chambers used a visit to Oman’s Sohar region on Monday to push for stronger trade links, logistics integration and supply-chain resilience, as businesses on both sides of the border navigate a more volatile regional operating environment.
The delegation was led by Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and Chief Executive of Dubai Chambers, and held meetings with the North Al Batinah branch of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as SOHAR Port and Freezone. Dubai Chambers said the talks focused on facilitating smoother bilateral trade flows, improving logistics connectivity and opening wider channels for economic cooperation between Dubai and Oman.
The timing of the visit is notable. Companies across the Gulf have been contending with heightened transport and supply pressures linked to regional conflict and disruptions affecting the Strait of Hormuz, a route that remains central to energy and broader commercial shipping. Reuters reported this month that business conditions in the UAE’s non-oil private sector slowed sharply in March, with supply chains and demand hit by the wider fallout from the conflict. That backdrop has made resilience in trade routes and port connectivity a sharper priority for policymakers and business groups.
Lootah said Dubai Chambers was working to strengthen collaboration with Oman to support the smooth flow of bilateral trade and enhance logistics links. The language used by the chamber points to a practical agenda rather than a ceremonial one: reducing friction in the movement of goods, widening private-sector cooperation and reinforcing cross-border commercial ties through institutional coordination. Meetings in Sohar also included engagement with industrial and free-zone stakeholders, underlining the role of port-linked manufacturing and warehousing in future trade growth.
Sohar carries strategic weight in that calculation. The port and adjoining freezone have developed into one of Oman’s main industrial and logistics hubs, positioned along shipping lanes that connect Gulf producers with Asian, African and European markets. For Dubai, deeper operational links with Sohar can complement its own strengths in re-export trade, finance, aviation and integrated logistics. For Oman, the relationship offers access to Dubai’s business networks, distribution channels and investor base. The visit suggests both sides are looking beyond headline trade volumes and towards the mechanics of continuity, storage, customs handling and onward distribution.
The broader commercial relationship already rests on a solid base. Data published through Oman’s official channels and carried by regional media in February showed the UAE ranked first among Oman’s trading partners in 2025 for non-oil exports, re-exports and merchandise imports. Oman’s non-oil exports to the UAE exceeded RO1.311 billion, up 25.3 per cent year on year, while the UAE accounted for 35.2 per cent of Oman’s re-export trade, valued at RO724 million. Omani merchandise imports from the UAE topped RO4.1 billion, an annual rise of 5.4 per cent. Those figures illustrate why both sides see value in protecting and expanding the corridor.
The visit also fits Dubai Chambers’ wider external engagement strategy. The organisation has been intensifying its programme of trade missions, business council activity and bilateral meetings aimed at helping Dubai-based companies expand into priority markets while attracting foreign firms and capital into Dubai. Its messaging around Oman mirrors that broader approach: identify sectors with immediate commercial potential, build institutional contacts and create pathways for private businesses to convert diplomatic goodwill into contracts and investment.
For businesses, the significance lies in what may follow the meetings. Trade bodies often frame these visits in broad terms, but the commercial test will be whether they produce faster cargo handling, new warehousing arrangements, joint ventures, industrial partnerships or better coordination between chambers, ports and customs-related actors. The focus on Sohar Industrial City, SOHAR Port and Freezone, and the North Al Batinah business community suggests an effort to connect manufacturers and logistics operators directly with Dubai’s trading ecosystem rather than rely solely on government-level declarations.
There is also a defensive logic to the effort. With shipping risk, insurance costs and delivery schedules under pressure across parts of the region, redundancy and diversification within Gulf trade networks have become commercially valuable. Tighter links between Dubai and Sohar could help firms reroute, store or process goods more flexibly when external shocks disrupt established patterns. That does not eliminate geopolitical exposure, but it can improve the capacity of traders and logistics groups to absorb it.
The delegation was led by Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and Chief Executive of Dubai Chambers, and held meetings with the North Al Batinah branch of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as SOHAR Port and Freezone. Dubai Chambers said the talks focused on facilitating smoother bilateral trade flows, improving logistics connectivity and opening wider channels for economic cooperation between Dubai and Oman.
The timing of the visit is notable. Companies across the Gulf have been contending with heightened transport and supply pressures linked to regional conflict and disruptions affecting the Strait of Hormuz, a route that remains central to energy and broader commercial shipping. Reuters reported this month that business conditions in the UAE’s non-oil private sector slowed sharply in March, with supply chains and demand hit by the wider fallout from the conflict. That backdrop has made resilience in trade routes and port connectivity a sharper priority for policymakers and business groups.
Lootah said Dubai Chambers was working to strengthen collaboration with Oman to support the smooth flow of bilateral trade and enhance logistics links. The language used by the chamber points to a practical agenda rather than a ceremonial one: reducing friction in the movement of goods, widening private-sector cooperation and reinforcing cross-border commercial ties through institutional coordination. Meetings in Sohar also included engagement with industrial and free-zone stakeholders, underlining the role of port-linked manufacturing and warehousing in future trade growth.
Sohar carries strategic weight in that calculation. The port and adjoining freezone have developed into one of Oman’s main industrial and logistics hubs, positioned along shipping lanes that connect Gulf producers with Asian, African and European markets. For Dubai, deeper operational links with Sohar can complement its own strengths in re-export trade, finance, aviation and integrated logistics. For Oman, the relationship offers access to Dubai’s business networks, distribution channels and investor base. The visit suggests both sides are looking beyond headline trade volumes and towards the mechanics of continuity, storage, customs handling and onward distribution.
The broader commercial relationship already rests on a solid base. Data published through Oman’s official channels and carried by regional media in February showed the UAE ranked first among Oman’s trading partners in 2025 for non-oil exports, re-exports and merchandise imports. Oman’s non-oil exports to the UAE exceeded RO1.311 billion, up 25.3 per cent year on year, while the UAE accounted for 35.2 per cent of Oman’s re-export trade, valued at RO724 million. Omani merchandise imports from the UAE topped RO4.1 billion, an annual rise of 5.4 per cent. Those figures illustrate why both sides see value in protecting and expanding the corridor.
The visit also fits Dubai Chambers’ wider external engagement strategy. The organisation has been intensifying its programme of trade missions, business council activity and bilateral meetings aimed at helping Dubai-based companies expand into priority markets while attracting foreign firms and capital into Dubai. Its messaging around Oman mirrors that broader approach: identify sectors with immediate commercial potential, build institutional contacts and create pathways for private businesses to convert diplomatic goodwill into contracts and investment.
For businesses, the significance lies in what may follow the meetings. Trade bodies often frame these visits in broad terms, but the commercial test will be whether they produce faster cargo handling, new warehousing arrangements, joint ventures, industrial partnerships or better coordination between chambers, ports and customs-related actors. The focus on Sohar Industrial City, SOHAR Port and Freezone, and the North Al Batinah business community suggests an effort to connect manufacturers and logistics operators directly with Dubai’s trading ecosystem rather than rely solely on government-level declarations.
There is also a defensive logic to the effort. With shipping risk, insurance costs and delivery schedules under pressure across parts of the region, redundancy and diversification within Gulf trade networks have become commercially valuable. Tighter links between Dubai and Sohar could help firms reroute, store or process goods more flexibly when external shocks disrupt established patterns. That does not eliminate geopolitical exposure, but it can improve the capacity of traders and logistics groups to absorb it.
Topics
Live News