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Global and regional powers have drawn up a series of plans to develop new trade corridors through Gulf countries over recent years, with the latest emerging at the G20 summit in India which will pass through the UAE, Saudi Arabia and on to Jordan and Israel. The ambitious plan could take decades to realise and will face competition from rival schemes backed by Iran, Iraq, Russia and Turkey. 

Sharjah Ruler Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al-Qasimi visited Muscat for a two-day official visit – the second Emirati ruler to make the journey in recent months, following a visit by Ras Al-Khaimah Ruler Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al-Qasimi in June.

Fitch Ratings upgraded Oman's long-term foreign-currency rating by one notch on 25 September, taking it from BB to BB+, with a stable outlook.

There was speculation that during his five-day private visit to Oman, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) may have crossed the border into Yemen. 

Oman offers significant oil storage facilities at sites including Sohar and Ras Markaz, with the latter having the advantage of being outside the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stopped in Muscat on 11 September on his way home from the G20 summit in India. Although billed as a "private visit" he arrived with a large delegation and held talks with Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said, covering the Yemen war, Iran and trade.  

Ras Al-Khaimah Ruler Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al-Qasimi held talks with the governor of Oman's Musandam region, Ibrahim Said Al-Busaidi. The talks covered ties between the two regions and followed a visit by Sheikh Saud to Muscat in June. 

Oman has introduced a unified national pension scheme, merging the assets and liabilities of 11 existing pension systems into a single Social Protection Fund. The reform is based on a unified regulatory regime for contributions, payments and retirement ages. It will reflect both need and its members' history of payment contributions.

Hydrogen economy plays: Underlining Oman’s determination to be a first mover in the predicted new global hydrogen economy – an apparent cornerstone of Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said’s more progressive economic policy – energy and minerals minister Salim Al-Aufi signed agreements for two green hydrogen (GH2) projects on 21 June.

A private jet usually associated with former Russian president and now National Security Council deputy chairman Dmitri Medvedev made an unexplained visit to Muscat in the wake of the 23-24 June abortive Wagner Group coup.

Gulf Co-operation Council foreign ministers were in Moscow on 10 July for the sixth round of the Russia-GCC strategic dialogue – the first time the meeting had been held in Russia since 2016. Moscow appeared keen to ensure the Ukraine war did not dominate the talks.

Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK) Ruler Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al-Qasimi has continued a recent spate of international travel, leading the UAE delegation to the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia mid-June on behalf of President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nayhan (MBZ) – despite the fact that MBZ himself was also at the event.

The former chief executive of Syria-focused Gulfsands Petroleum is targeting upstream oil and gas assets in Oman, as well as solar power opportunities. A return to Syria remains off the table for now, but Sajjad told GSN that "if the door opens again, we’ll be knocking".

Sayyid Bilarab Bin Haitham Al-Said, the younger son of Oman's Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said, embarked on a visit to Switzerland in June in an effort to deepen trading relations and explore opportunities with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and affiliated institutions.

Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said he received a favourable reception to the idea of forming a new dialogue forum with Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, following a series of meetings with his counterparts around the region in June.