Oman and the United Kingdom signed agreements on Wednesday to increase investment between the two countries, including a plan to build a large-scale artificial intelligence data center in Salalah whose first phase is expected to exceed £1 billion.
The UK government said more than £1 billion in new investment was set to generate jobs in both countries, in a statement issued as Prime Minister Andy Burnham hosted His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik at 10 Downing Street during the Sultan’s three-day state visit.
Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology signed a memorandum of understanding with UK-founded Yamna, an infrastructure development and investment company backed by British investment funds, to build the Salalah data center, Muscat Daily reported.
The UK government said the project would create more than 100 skilled jobs in the UK. It did not give a construction timeline.
The Oman Investment Authority also signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK side to promote investment cooperation and encourage investment flows between the two countries.
The agreement builds on the UK-Oman Sovereign Investment Partnership signed in 2022 and covers sectors including renewable energy, technology, critical minerals, space, healthcare and financial services, according to the UK government. Oman has invested £1.7 billion in the UK since the partnership was created.
UK Export Finance, the UK government’s export credit agency, will increase its financing capacity for UK exports to Oman to up to £7 billion.
UK exports to Oman totaled £1.1 billion in the four quarters to the end of the first quarter of 2026, the UK government said.
The two countries also signed letters of intent on space cooperation and on the responsible use of AI in education.
