Hassan Al -Sitry
- Omani investment sectors are topped by money, insurance, quarries and real estate
- Bahrain concluded 48 tax dual agreement with countries, including 10 Arabs and two Gulfs
The Ministry of Finance and National Economy revealed that the volume of direct investments from the Sultanate of Oman in Bahrain amounted to (398) million dollars in 2023, which represents (0.9%) of the total amount of foreign direct investments in the Kingdom, noting that direct foreign investment flows to Bahrain from the Sultanate of Oman amounted to (39.3) million dollars during the same year.
Al -Maliah explained that the most important sectors in terms of the volume of foreign direct investment from the Sultanate of Oman are concentrated in both financial services and insurance, miners and quarry work, human health and social work, in addition to real estate and construction work.
She pointed out that the total non -oil exports from the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Sultanate of Oman amounted to (350.2) million US dollars, while imports from the Sultanate of Oman amounted to (137.5) million US dollars during the year 2023.
In a related context, the Parliamentary Financial and Economic Affairs Committee approved a draft law to ratify the agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the government of the Sultanate of Oman regarding the removal of double taxation, preventing evasion and avoiding taxes in relation to income taxes, accompanying Decree No. (12) of 2025.
The Ministry of Finance and National Economy saw the importance of approval of the draft law by ratifying the agreement, for reasons and justifications, including that Bahrain has concluded so far (48) agreements to remove double tax with many countries of the world; Note that it is the second agreement in the Gulf and the tenth in the Arab world, as the agreement comes within the framework of enhancing economic cooperation in tax matters between the two governments of the two countries, while the agreement aims to remove the tax duplication of persons residing in one or both countries, and the provisions of the agreement apply to income taxes that are imposed in the interest of either parties.
The Ministry stated that the importance of the agreement for the Kingdom of Bahrain lies in implementing the Kingdom’s obligations to the standards of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the tax field, as well as the standards of the International Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information in tax issues, and the criteria of the comprehensive framework to combat the erosion of the tax container and transfer of profits, creating the appropriate legal, legislative and economic environment to encourage the flow of capital and joint investments through the removal of The tax duplication of citizens and institutions of the two countries.
The Ministry stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation and partnership between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman, as the agreement aims to avoid double tax, so that the investor or the merchant is not obligated to pay taxes in both contracts, but rather is imposed in only one country, which enhances the principle of transparency in tax transactions.
She indicated that the agreement does not aim to set new taxes or change laws in any of the two contracting countries, and the implementation of the agreement will not result in any additional obligations outside what the agreement stipulated, and it has become necessary after the conclusion of many similar agreements with foreign countries, and after the entry into force of these agreements globally, they will also be concluded at the level of the Arab Gulf states.
For its part, the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry saw the approval of the draft law to ratify the agreement, because the signing of such agreements contributes to encouraging foreign investments and enhancing its movement, and the agreement is in line with the directions of the Kingdom of Bahrain towards enhancing its economic position at the global level, given that the agreement does not give other contracting countries unjustified preferential privileges or contradicts the principles of international investment.
According to the draft law, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s ratification of the agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the government of the Sultanate of Oman regarding the removal of double taxation and preventing evasion and avoiding taxes in relation to income taxes, within the efforts made to develop economic relations between the two countries. The agreement aims to enhance cooperation in tax issues to remove the tax duplication regarding income taxes and prevent evasion and avoidance Tax.
