Gulf and Middle East
Somalia and Oman
Oman is one of Somalia's three main export markets, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It bought US$180 million of Somali goods in 2023 and sold Somalia US$257 million. Omani rulers held a loose authority over the Banaadir coast from 1728 to the 1880s, and the two states signed an air services agreement in Muscat in 1983.
How do Somalia and Oman relate today?
Oman is one of Somalia's three main export destinations, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Live animals are the main export (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025).
In 2023 Oman bought Somali goods worth US$180.5 million and sold Somalia goods worth US$256.6 million (WITS, World Bank, imports; WITS, exports).
Somalia has an embassy in Muscat. Wikipedia says Oman is due to reopen its embassy in Mogadishu, without a date (en.wikipedia.org, Oman–Somalia relations).
When did contact begin?
In 1728 the Portuguese lost their last foothold on the East African coast, Fort Jesus in Mombasa. From then until the European scramble for Africa in the 1880s, the Omanis held a loose authority over the Banaadir coast (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study).
Omani rule meant mostly a small yearly tribute, a resident qadi (Muslim judge) and a few askaris (police). Over time the Banaadir coast was drawn into the orbit of the sultans of Zanzibar (Library of Congress). Italy later took the Banaadir coast, which had long been under loose Zanzibari authority, to form Italian Somaliland (Library of Congress).
Modern diplomatic relations date from 1980, according to a RAND list of states with which Oman has relations (Kechichian, Oman and the World, RAND, via Wikipedia).
Who are the ambassadors and envoys?
No list of ambassadors in either direction was found for this page. Somalia keeps an embassy in Muscat (en.wikipedia.org).
Who built the tie?
- Sultan Qaboos bin Said: ratified the Somali–Omani air services agreement by Royal Decree 74/84 on 22 July 1984 (Royal Decree 74/84, decree.om).
- Oman's minister of transport: authorised by Royal Decree 109/81 to sign the air services agreement (Royal Decree 74/84).
What agreements have they signed?
- 19 March 1983: air services agreement between Oman and the Somali Democratic Republic, signed in Muscat, covering services between and beyond their territories. Ratified by Royal Decree 74/84 of 22 July 1984 and published in Official Gazette 293 on 1 August 1984 (decree.om).
Which leaders have visited?
No dated state visits were found for this page.
How much do they trade?
From World Bank WITS data, Oman's trade with Somalia:
- 2010: exports US$69.9 million; imports US$71.7 million (WITS, exports; WITS, imports).
- 2015: exports US$184.2 million; imports US$143.5 million (WITS, exports; WITS, imports).
- 2019: exports US$232.5 million; imports US$165.2 million (WITS, exports; WITS, imports).
- 2021: exports US$263.6 million; imports US$186.9 million (WITS, exports; WITS, imports).
- 2023: exports US$256.6 million; imports US$180.5 million (WITS, exports; WITS, imports).
Somalia's live animal exports earned US$922.9 million in 2025, going mostly to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025). See Livestock exports.
How much aid and money has gone in?
No Omani government humanitarian funding to Somalia appears in the UN Financial Tracking Service for the years checked here (2011, 2012, 2017, 2019 and 2022 to 2025) (FTS, 2025; FTS, 2011). Oman does not appear among Somalia's creditors in the Ministry of Finance's 2025 debt report (Somali Ministry of Finance, Annual Debt Management Report 2025).
What about security?
No Omani military role in Somalia was found. See Foreign forces in Somalia.
Oman has acted against illegal Somali charcoal. The UN Monitoring Group named Duqm and Shinas in Oman among the ports receiving Somali charcoal in 2017–2018 and said seizures by Oman and the UAE helped deter the trade. It added that Oman could have answered the Group's letters sooner (UN Security Council, S/2018/1002, 9 November 2018).
How does Oman deal with Somaliland and the member states?
No sourced Omani agreements with Somaliland or the member states were found.
Have there been disputes?
None were found in the sources checked.
How many Somalis live in Oman?
No reliable count was found for this page.
Where does Oman stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia?
Oman and Somalia are both members of the Arab League, which Somalia joined in 1974 as its first non-Arab member (Library of Congress, Relations with Arab Countries).
Related pages
Sources
- Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025 · centralbank.gov.so
- WITS, World Bank, imports · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS, exports · wits.worldbank.org
- en.wikipedia.org, Oman–Somalia relations · en.wikipedia.org
- Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study · countrystudies.us
- Library of Congress · countrystudies.us
- Kechichian, Oman and the World, RAND, via Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Royal Decree 74/84, decree.om · decree.om
- WITS, exports · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS, imports · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS, exports · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS, imports · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS, exports · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS, imports · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS, exports · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS, imports · wits.worldbank.org
- FTS, 2025 · api.hpc.tools
- FTS, 2011 · api.hpc.tools
- Somali Ministry of Finance, Annual Debt Management Report 2025 · archive.mof.gov.so
- UN Security Council, S/2018/1002, 9 November 2018 · documents.un.org
- Library of Congress, Relations with Arab Countries · countrystudies.us
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