Oman’s media and Reuters publish contradictory reports.

The Oman government has refuted that it is holding negotiations (in Arabic) with other GCC states regarding a deposit of Billions of Dollars into the Oman Central Bank by them.

Oman Currency
Oman Currency

This comes after Oman joined a Saudi-led coalition of Muslim countries to fight terrorism and a report by Reuters that Omani officials met in recently with officials of the finance ministries of Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to discuss the proposed deposit, sources said, while declining to be named . The announcement by Oman comes shortly after the 2017 Omani budget was issued showing a deficit of more than 2.4Billion Omani Rials (well over 6Billion USDollars). Reuters suggest that the Omani currency, which has been fixed to the USDollar since 1986, has been under pressure. Oman devalued its currency in 1986 and has vowed not to do so again. The Oman government has a number of substantial projects including Muscat Airport and Ad Duqm Port that rely on government financial support and any foreign loans will be quoted in USDollars.

Author: Tony Walsh

Book author including the current Bradt guide to Oman