Muscat: The World Bank Group has established a permanent office in Muscat to offer advisory services and oversee projects funded by the World Bank (WB) and its private sector partners.
By hosting the WB office, the Sultanate of Oman hopes to better utilize the services provided by the World Bank Group and its affiliate organizations, which promote economic growth as well as social, urban, commercial, and private sector development. The move aligns with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040.
The presence of a permanent World Bank Group office will allow the WB to follow up on private sector project financing agreements, better investigate private sector financing, and increase the number of private sector firms that have received Omani export guarantee certificates.
The new office will also offer technical, investment, and financing advice to private sector organizations.
The WB office will provide platforms for establishing a network of business relationships to assist the private sector in growing and connecting to trade sectors across GCC states and the Middle East, generating opportunities for increased private sector activity and national export.
The WB's permanent office in the Sultanate of Oman will oversee the establishment of permanent offices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Kuwait, and the State of Qatar.
During the first half of 2025, the World Bank Group ratified two deals in Oman.
The first agreement was intended to provide financing for Omani private sector projects worth OMR123 million, including OMR46 million for the National Finance Company's portfolio consolidation and OMR77 million for Bank Sohar International's portfolio expansion.
The agreement was intended to offer financial services to microenterprises and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in high-potential economic sectors. The agreement allows emerging enterprises to get direct consultations to assist them expand, connecting them with the commercial, investment, and financing systems, and expanding in the Middle East and beyond.
The WB group's second financing deal with the 'United Solar Polysilicon' company in Sohar to set up a solar panel manufacturing plant in Sohar is worth OMR737 million.
The factory will be a major player in Oman's clean energy industry, in addition to boosting industrial exports.
Wendy Werner, the World Bank Group's country manager for Oman, stated, "The WB Group looks forward to close cooperation with the public and private sectors to support building a resilient economy, enhance SMEs access to sustainable financing, and enable the Omani private sector to develop more strongly, locally and internationally. "
