The European Union and Oman have signed an agreement to open a permanent EU Mission in Muscat, as the regional alliance consolidates its footprint in the Gulf area.
Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas and the Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi assented to the legal framework on Tuesday.
Brussels said the signing marked a major step forward in deepening the collaboration between the EU and Oman and acknowledging the nation’s key role in the region.
“This will further underpin the important work we do with our European friends,” Kallas noted, highlighting the bloc’s commitment to stronger security partnerships in the Gulf.
The establishment of a diplomatic mission in Oman adds to the EU’s network of 145 delegations worldwide. Kallas called the body’s global spread “one of its greatest strategic assets.”
EU-Gulf relations are bonded by the 1989 Cooperation Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, though the EEAS has a respective bilateral agreement with each GCC member state.
The EU entered into Cooperation Arrangements with Bahrain in 2021, Saudi Arabia (2021), Oman (2018), Qatar (2018), the United Arab Emirates (2018), and Kuwait (2016).