Keynote remarks by Oman's Foreign Minister at 31st Annual Arab-US Policymakers' Conference
Transcript of the keynote remarks by Oman's Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, at the 31st Annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference, organised by the National Council on US-Arab Relations in Washington D.C. on Nov 3rd 2022.
“Greetings from the Sultanate of Oman. I am very sorry not to be able to be with you today in person. But I am delighted still to be able to share with you at least a few thoughts on the theme of your conference.
“I would like to begin by expressing my warmest thanks to the National Council for US-Arab relations for organising this event. Your meeting promises to make a timely, much needed, and rich contribution to our understanding of the challenges and possibilities – the uncertainties, if you like – that we face together today.
“In making this contribution it continues in the admirable tradition established over nearly four decades now by the National Council.
“This is an organisation that is globally admired by many, for its promotion of thoughtful, well-informed collaboration, underpinned by a humanist and internationalist vision.
“We all owe an enormous debt of gratitude to its Founding President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr John Duke Anthony. John, thank you, not just for this event but for all the tireless enthusiasm, wisdom, and generosity with which you have so graciously made our conversations possible over the years.
“Let me now honour John's commitment to serious and meaningful dialogue by trying to address the question that this conference asks us.
“Arab-US Uncertainties: What Lies Ahead?
“So, first, let us consider: Which uncertainties are we thinking about here?
“What kind of role does the United States want to have in the contemporary Arab world?
“From the perspective of Oman and our immediate neighbours on the Arabian peninsula, this involves questions about the future of the Gulf.
“What is the nature of the United States' commitment to the security of the Gulf?
“How might the Arab states of the Gulf best combine their relationships with the United States with their relationships with other powers? With China, for example. Or with Iran or with India?
“What are the key positive outcomes that the Arab states of the Gulf might wish to pursue in coordination with the United States?
“To start to answer these questions – and look ahead with a little less uncertainty – we need to turn our attention to what is happening now in the Gulf, and from there work out what this means for US – Arab relationships in the years to come.
“So, as I attempt to offer a few answers, to say what it is that I think ‘lies ahead' of us, I will be speaking specifically about Oman, and about how we might best chart a course into the uncertain future.
“This means I can introduce at least one element of certainty into our discussion. And it is this: in Oman we recognise that we are already living through a moment of profound and historical transition.
“I am talking about the transition away from carbon. But for those of us whose economic development has been so profoundly shaped by the geological accident of oil and gas reserves, this transition has a double character.
“For us it is not simply a matter of making a transition away from the consumption of fossil fuels, it is about transforming the very basis of our present prosperity.
“For those societies whose relationship to fossil fuels is essentially a matter of consumption, the transition may turn out to be mainly a transition from one model of energy use to another.
“Renewable energy, electric cars, effective insulation: all of these and more can be achieved in many parts of the world without changing the underlying foundations of the economy.
“In other words, the house can be refurbished, and new technologies installed. The key wealth-generating activities can continue, as before, powered by different energy sources.
“We don't have that comparative luxury. We have to work out how we can continue to provide our citizens with work, with incomes, with public services, with healthcare, with education, and with the good life they have come to enjoy, in a world beyond fossil fuels.
“This means that as the Arab states of the Gulf look to the future, the complex process of decarbonisation may need to involve a profound reorganisation of our entire economy and social relations.
“Some of the outlines of this reorganisation are already coming into focus. I want briefly to sketch three of them. Our transition will require major investments in renewable energy. Here we can already see that what lies ahead may be very exciting.
“Oman, for example, has some of the world's highest potential for the generation of solar and wind energy. Year-round sunshine and a long coastline turn out to be more than just an appealing holiday proposition. One study concludes our green hydrogen potential is ten-fold our current oil and gas production. I urge you all to come and partner with us to realise this potential.
“Much work has to be done. Storage capacity and effective technologies for energy export will be required. Oman is building partnerships with some of the world's leading research and development organisations to make this happen. I want to see more American firms among them.
“Technological development will be crucial elsewhere, too, as we move to diversify our economy. We want to build partnerships with the technology innovators of the future, inviting them to bring their ideas and their business to Oman.
“We want to encourage innovation by supporting young Omanis to develop products and services and the SMEs that will deliver them. Oman Vision 2040 makes this a key priority.
“Renewable energy. Innovative applications of new technology, with government support for SMEs.
“But there is a vital third element. We need to ensure that the new economy, towards which we are planning our transition, is an economy that offers all our citizens the opportunity to flourish.
“In Oman, we believe that this can be best achieved by developing and maintaining the highest levels of social inclusion.
“Part of the reorganisation involved in the transition must therefore be an active role for government in making sure that the most vulnerable in our society are protected while those of us who enjoy the privileges of wealth all make an appropriate contribution to the well-being of all.
“The path to stability and security goes via social inclusion and solidarity between people and families. That is the path that Oman has chosen.
“The question of what lies ahead, for relations between the US and the Arab states of the Gulf, is therefore transformed into a new set of related questions.
“What can the United States do to encourage this choice as a choice for the region?
“How can the US commitment to regional security be realised in a new way?
“How can American policy in the region support its governments and citizens in what I believe to be the responsible choice, the choice which offers the best prospect of regional stability?
“In other words, how can the United States best contribute to the development of a new concept of regional security in the Gulf, based not only on the balancing of antagonistic powers, but rather more on the development of solidarity between people?
“There has been much talk in recent years about the United States withdrawing from the region.
“People have been worried about the consequences of the withdrawal of the traditional instruments of American power –security personnel, weaponry, and the maintenance of strategic partnerships against political threats.
“Some have feared that this means the United States is going to turn its attention elsewhere, prioritising other regions, content to leave the Gulf – and the Arab world more generally – to live without its continuing support.
“I don't think that this is the case. And it certainly doesn't need to be.
“Yes, American engagement in the Gulf used to be a question of military power, strategic alliances, containment, and intervention. Much has taken place in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
“But in the future, if we get it right, American engagement in the region will support security, stability, and prosperity even more effectively than it has through these conventional means.
“We can do this if the United States – its government, its businesses, its technology entrepreneurs, its educators, and its thinkers – work with us to develop and implement policies that seek decarbonisation, diversification, and social inclusion.
“Thank you very much. I wish you a successful conference. I hope to see many of you in Muscat in the coming months.
Thank you again.”