Muscat – Bahwan Services and Trading (BST), an affiliate of Sheikh Ahmed Suhail Bahwan’s group of companies, and Ajlan & Brothers Holding Group (Abilitii), from Saudi Arabia, have signed a collaboration agreement to establish joint investments in both countries, and announced a new era of partnerships for key sectors towards Saudi Vision 2030 and Oman Vision 2040.

The Sultanate of Oman and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik al Said and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and alongside the dynamic young leader HRH Prince Mohammad bin Salman, are witnessing enormous momentum in economic and investment cooperation between two countries in various sectors after the visits of both leaders and their respective business delegations during 2021. Trade between the two nations is continuously on the rise, a press release said.

The proprietors of BST and Abilitii yesterday signed economic, commercial, and technical collaboration agreements. The various projects of mutual interests come under the field of industrial manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage, renewable energy, healthcare and food security initiatives in both countries, and joint investments within and outside the GCC.

Sheikh Mohammed Abdulaziz al Ajlan, vice chairman of Abilitii along with Eng Ali al Hazmi, Group CEO, and the senior management team of Abilitii are on a three-day visit to Muscat to discuss and sign collaboration agreements with BST. Sheikh Abdullah Ahmed Suhail Bahwan, executive director-BST, signed the agreements from his side.

The move aims to strengthen existing economic relations between the two groups by developing effective programmes and mechanisms for collaboration in efforts for all future projects of mutual interests for initial five years and thereafter. Both groups will co-operate and work together in the fields of trade, investment, knowledge exchange, and facilitate joint economic efforts during the next stage, thereby promoting sustainable economic development in both countries.

During the ceremony, Sheikh Ahmed Suhail Bahwan emphasised that this agreement will pave the way for a joint economic co-operation between the two countries in line with respective countries visions for future growth. This partnership with Abilitii is being built on the principles of flexibility, openness, and international economic collaboration in various vital sectors for self-substantiality, new technologies and to invest together in future economic growth sectors.

Sheikh Ahmed Suhail Bahwan’s group of companies have been operational in the automobile sector in Saudi Arabia for more than 12 years, and it now aspires to expand into other businesses along with its trusted partner – Abilitii.

Sheikh Ajlan said, “Led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince, HRH Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, Saudi economy reported huge growth in all aspects. In line with the true vision of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik al Said, the economy of Sultanate of Oman is strongly placed to grow at a rapid rate, as per IMF’s latest prediction, is the highest in GCC at 5.6% in 2022.

“We believe, the sultanate is a prominent economic destination for investments and an important trade partner of the Kingdom in the GCC. Abilitii is eager to be part of this growth story and commit itself to partner with the well-respected BST. Abilitii, by teaming with a local trustworthy partner, wants to collaborate on various identified projects with an investment potential of about US$3bn in the near future. The signing of this new collaboration agreement is a milestone in the economic relations between the two countries. We will continue this collaboration and our efforts in future to achieve shared goals of both the organisations, in line with the economic development aspirations of both the countries to create local employment and self-substantiality in key sectors.”