On the occasion of Bastille Day (July 14), H E Véronique Aulagnon, Ambassador of France to Oman, spoke with Muscat Daily on various issues ranging from business, education to football and food. Excerpts:
What is your immediate focus as Ambassador of France to Oman?
My immediate focus is business, though the backbone of our relationship is our political and security cooperation. Business is booming and the Gulf region is a priority for French companies. They are extremely active to win contracts and invest – not only in oil and gas or security and defence, where we have a widely recognised expertise, but also in public infrastructure and transport, water and waste management, logistics, renewables, nuclear energy and green hydrogen, health and food security, hospitality, luxury and services.
In Oman, France has a strong business presence, with at least 40 companies established in the sultanate and many more working in the Omani market from abroad. French companies are leading in soe key sectors such as water and waste management and electricity production. They have significant market share in oil and gas, defence and security, and services.
The French Government is also active and successful in attracting investment from the major sovereign funds of the region, not only in real estate and sports, but also in R&D in technologies of mutual interest.
But the backbone of our relationship remains political and security cooperation.
My team and I also actively engage with the Omani Government on political and security matters, as France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and Oman plays an important role to the peace efforts in Yemen, besides engaging with Iran on its nuclear programme and the release of Western hostages. We also rely on Oman to help our Navy and our aircraft circulate through the Gulf region, as we have a strong presence in the Indo-Pacific region to secure our national interests, cooperate with our partners and contribte to international security.
How many visas were issued to Omanis travelling to France last year? What are the main purposes of these visits?
We issued close to 4,000 visas in Oman in 2022 compared to 7,500 in 2018, 60% of which were for Omani nationals. The main purpose of travel is tourism (65%), as one would expect, France being the No 1 destination in the world with over 90mn foreign visitors every year. The approval rate is 90% and close to 100% for Omani nationals.
France strongly supports the request by the Omani government for a Schengen visa waiver for its nationals. Meanwhile, the EU has introduced a more favourable system for Omani nationals in 2023, whereby first-time applicants are entitled to a two-year multi-entry visa and then longer periods of time. However, I would like to encourage Muscat Daily readers to hasten their visa requests, especially for summer holidays. We are only able to accommodate late requests for emergencies and official visits.
The French Omai Friendship Association has been quite active. How do you plan to engage more community members in it?
The French Omani Friendship Association is indeed one of the most active bilateral associations in the country. We owe this success to a very committed board, remarkably chaired by Sulaiman al Harthy, President of Oman Arab Bank, and to an amazing coordinator, Marie Elicagaray, who just returned to France after six years having built a strong legacy.
Our main focus is to support business opportunities between our two countries. The association organises monthly events, each focused on one sector, which are very well attended, including on the part of the Omani government.
We recently had conferences on the fisheries industry, startups and innovation policies, training and leadership programmes, and renewable energy. The association is also very active in supporting women empowerment, a priority that I, of course, strongly support as a female ambassador. In terms of memberships,our main targets are Omani companies who are seeking partnerships with France, Francophone Omanis many raised in East Africa who enjoy attending Francophone cultural events, and alumni of French universities.
Any plans to have another French school in Muscat considering the growing French speaking population?
Not for the time being. The International French School of Muscat still has the capacity to welcome additional students. It does attract more and more families looking for an internationally recognised curriculum, with a strong commitment to the well being of the children and to a multilingual system, including a very strong level of Arabic for native speakers. I would just hope that Omani nationals would get waivers more easily, as international schools should not only serve expatriates, but also build lasting people-to-people relations within the host country.
Having said that, we do encourage and support international, as well as Omani private and public schools, to teach Fench and consider academic opportunities in France. We provide training and networking opportunities to their staff and to their students through the Centre Franco Omanais. Currently, the French language is taught as an elective in four post basic schools in Oman in Grade 11 and 12. We are ready to support the Omani government expand this programme.
What are the new investments in the country and in which sectors?
Over the last year, we have seen new investments and contracts for French companies, and I expect more in the coming months. In oil and gas, Total Energies signed the first LNG export contract and is working on further investments. In the field of renewable energies and green hydrogen, I am delighted with the recent signing of two major new projects – in June 2023, French energy company Engie, which has been present in Oman for 40 years, won a tender with Korean and Thai partners to produce green ammonia in Duqm.
Three months earlier, the major French group EDF Renewable, also in partnership with a Korean company, won a tender to build and operate the Manah 1 solar power plant, and is actively seeking investment opportunities in the country.
In the fisheries sector, a French-Omani consortium was designated a few years ago to build and operate the new fishery port of Duqm. The project is well on track, already providing basic services.
Our companies are actively exploring new opportunities for infrastructure projects, including roads, train and tramway, as well as mining or hospitality.
The Omani government has taken positive steps to attract more investors and enhance its international financing rating. Further improvements of the business environment, in particular a more business friendly labour law, as well as increased government backed outreach in Europe, would also help.
Where does people-to-people relationship stand between the two countries in the 3Fs – food, football and films?
Building more people-to-people relations between France nd Oman is also a key priority for me. Within our toolkit, I believe that academic exchanges and visit programmes have the strongest leverage. There is great potential for improvement there, building on some successful programmes such as the one for medical studies. We currently have around 80 Omanis studying in France each year and a few academic partnerships with French universities.
We just launched our alumni network and will organise a French Academic Day and a promotion campaign in November. We are working on a new joint scholarship programme. Let me also flag the recent call for proposals for an incubation programme targeting female entrepreneurs.
Food, football and films are indeed key elements of the French soft power abroad, which we showcase in Oman with, I believe, some success, especially during the French Weeks in Oman in March. You could also add fashion and many others areas without an ‘F’ where we also have been active in 2022 and 2023: Perfumes, Architecture, Photgraphy and Music.
In the year to come, we want to reach out more to young people, because they are the future of this country.
Food: Every year, we organise a highly expected French Food Festival, together with hotels and restaurants, to promote French gastronomy and support the hospitality sector. For the next edition, we will also focus on training opportunities in partnership with France.
Football: The last World Cup gave us the opportunity to organise events in Muscat around games where les Bleus represented France in the best way possible: diversity, team spirit, fair play. Now, Paris will host the World Rugby Cup starting in September, and then the Summer Olympics in 2024. Those are unique opportunities to promote sports in Oman and partnerships between our two countries to train young Omani athletes.
Films: Movies are indeed a great way to share different visions of the world. France is a major player in this field. Unfortunately, there are very few French movies screened n Oman. We are working to have more French movies screened at film festivals organised in Oman and to organise workshops for professionals. I would love to see an outdoor French or European film festival open to everyone organised in partnership with the Muscat Municipality. Meanwhile, I invite Muscat Daily readers to visit the Franco Omani Centre, which regularly screens French movies, with a special emphasis on children.
