MOSCOW, July 1 Oman can become a window for the transit of not only oil, but also Russian goods in general to the Middle East region and the countries of the Southeast Asia, said Vladimir Dergachev, Executive Director of the Russian-Omani Business Council at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, in an interview.
«It is advisable to position Oman in a broader sense: as a window to the Middle East region and to the countries of Southeast Asia,» Dergachev said, answering the agency's question about whether the Sultanate could become a transshipment point or hub for Russian oil transported by tankers to Asia.
He noted that the geographical location of Oman makes it possible to consider the country as a center for cross-border transportation and servicing traffic flows in the North-South direction.
«We would consider the development of the India-Iran-Oman logistics hub as a central hub in the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, where the Omani port of Sohar, according to the Omanis themselves, should play a key role» — added the expert.
Dergachev drew attention to the fact that Oman is located «literally opposite Iran» and this factor is of no small importance in the context of the development of the North-South transport corridor.
«That is, the so-called «shoulder» is very small, which means that the transport component in the final price is insignificant, which is worth thinking about seriously,» he stressed.
In addition, the expert added, in the future it is planned to create a single railway network linking all the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf (GCC), which was launched this spring by the creation of an Emirato-Omani company to build the first segment of the network.
«Its total length should be 2,244 kilometers and connect the three main ports of Oman with the states of the Persian Gulf, which will also enable us to facilitate the transshipment of goods through the Sultanate,» Dergachev concluded.
Read the full text of Vladimir Dergachev's interview >>