Some visits mark a date on the calendar; others open a chapter in a nation’s economic story. The state visit of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to France on June 29 belongs firmly to the second category. At the Élysée Palace, twelve agreements, memoranda of understanding and declarations of intent were signed between Sultanate of Oman and the French Republic, and a Franco-Omani business forum brought together more than sixty companies from both countries. The French side placed the value of the projects announced at roughly $ 2.25 billion, spanning water, energy transition, transport, space and technology.
The historic weight of the occasion is worth pausing on. This was the first state visit by an Omani head of state to France in more than three decades, and the first of His Majesty’s reign to Paris, building on a relationship that dates back to the opening of a French consulate in Muscat in 1894. Long-standing friendship has now been given a modern economic architecture, and that architecture speaks directly to Oman’s national priorities.
Read the list of accords and you are, in effect, reading the sector map of Oman Vision 2040. In renewable energy, Nama Power and Water Procurement Company signed the first phase of the 500-megawatt Al Kamil and Al Wafi solar project with EDF, complemented by an agreement for pumped-storage hydropower at Wadi Dayqah, both advancing Oman’s target of a greener energy mix. In logistics, ASYAD Group and CMA CGM agreed to develop and operate a multipurpose terminal, while a further memorandum covered ports and the Muscat Metro, strengthening Oman’s ambition to be a leading global logistics hub. In utilities, SUEZ and its Omani partners will bring international expertise and digital tools to the management of Greater Muscat’s water networks. And in one of the most forward-looking accords, Oman Investment Authority connected Omani start-ups to Station F in Paris, among the world’s largest start-up campuses, opening a European runway for our young founders.
Each agreement lands squarely on a diversification priority Oman set for itself: energy, transport and logistics, manufacturing, tourism and the knowledge economy. That alignment is no accident; it reflects deliberate national planning and the growing confidence of international partners in Oman’s direction.
The macroeconomic foundations make that confidence easy to understand. By the end of the second quarter of 2025, Oman’s stock of foreign direct investment had reached RO 30.279 billion, a 12.8 per cent rise year on year, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information. The International Monetary Fund, in its 2025 Article IV assessment, noted that non-hydrocarbon activity now accounts for close to seventy per cent of GDP and grew by 3.5 per cent in the first half of that year, led by construction, logistics, tourism, agriculture and fisheries. Oman’s return to investment-grade credit ratings has reinforced this momentum. A country with these fundamentals naturally attracts partners of France’s calibre and France, in turn, gains a stable, strategically located gateway between Europe, Asia and Africa.
The bilateral dimension carries its own promise. Merchandise trade between Oman and France stood above RO 100 million in 2025 on NCSI figures a healthy base with substantial headroom to grow. French companies bring depth in precisely the fields where Oman is building capacity: utilities, rail, renewable generation, deep-water logistics and the innovation economy. For a small, open economy, every reliable and technically sophisticated partner added strengthens resilience and expands opportunities for technology transfer.
The Station F partnership deserves particular attention, because it captures a broader truth: capital is welcome, but capability is transformative. When an Omani founder gains a soft landing on a leading global start-up campus, what returns to Muscat is method, networks and a raised ceiling of ambition. This is a powerful complement to the national push to empower small and medium enterprises and to grow the private sector’s share of the economy and a model worth extending to other innovation capitals.
The natural next chapter is translation turning signed frameworks into visible projects on the ground, something Oman has consistently demonstrated an ability to deliver. Several ideas can amplify the impact. A joint Oman–France follow-up platform, with clear milestones for each accord, would keep momentum high and give investors visibility. Embedding Omani engineers, graduates and SMEs in every project from day one would multiply local content and ensure that knowledge compounds at home. Twinning each major contract with a training and technology-transfer component would convert infrastructure spending into human capital. And showcasing early wins the first solar phase delivered, the first Omani start-up scaling from Station F would strengthen Oman’s international investment narrative and attract the next wave of partners.
The visit also strengthens Oman’s wider positioning. In a world rearranging its supply chains, Oman’s ports on open sea lanes, its reputation for stability and its consistent policy of friendship with all give it a rare convening power. The Paris accords signal to global boardrooms that Oman is not merely open for business but organised for it with a clear vision, credible institutions and partnerships that match ambition with expertise.
The signatures at the Élysée were more than a diplomatic milestone; they were an investment in Oman Vision 2040 and in the next chapter of Sultanate of Oman’s economic transformation. With the same steadiness that carried Sultanate of Oman to this moment, these agreements can mature into power plants, terminals, water networks and thriving young company’s tangible dividends of a friendship more than a century old, now renewed for the century ahead.
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