As part of the State Visit of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik – may Allah protect him – to the friendly Republic of Botswana, an Air Services Agreement between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Botswana was signed today, Thursday, 17 September 2026, in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana.
 
The Agreement was signed on behalf of the Sultanate of Oman by His Excellency Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Al Busaidi, Foreign Minister, and on behalf of the Republic of Botswana by His Excellency Keoagile Atamelang, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Botswana.
 
The Agreement aims to regulate the operational and technical aspects in a manner that serves the mutual interests in the field of regulating air transport services between the two countries. The Agreement is also based on open-skies principles, allowing airlines to operate an unlimited number of direct flights between the two countries.
 
The Agreement comprises 23 articles covering various provisions related to the economic principles of air transport, regulatory and technical cooperation in the fields of civil aviation, in addition to a route schedule aimed at enabling airlines to plan the expansion of their operational networks for passenger and air cargo services between the airports of the two countries. The Agreement also allows the airlines of both countries to enter into cooperative arrangements for code sharing on flights operated by the air carriers.
 
In this context, His Excellency Eng. Naif bin Ali Al Abri, President of the Civil Aviation Authority, affirmed that the Agreement reflects the Sultanate of Oman’s approach to broadening the horizons of cooperation in the field of civil aviation and strengthening its presence in international markets by establishing flexible regulatory frameworks that provide wider opportunities for the operation of passenger and air cargo services. It also contributes to diversifying air connectivity options and supporting tourism, trade and investment flows between the Sultanate of Oman and countries around the world, in line with the objectives of the National Aviation Strategy 2040.
 
The signing of the Air Services Agreement with the Republic of Botswana today comes as part of the Government’s commitment to strengthening air connectivity between the Sultanate of Oman and various countries around the world. This is expected to contribute to the growth of tourism and trade exchanges and support the development of economic and social activities.
 
It is worth noting that the Sultanate of Oman has concluded bilateral air transport and air services agreements with numerous countries around the world, bringing the total to 134 countries. These agreements aim to regulate the technical and operational aspects and consolidate cooperation and bilateral relations in the fields of air transport and civil aviation with other countries.