The Sultanate of Oman officially inaugurated its Honorary Consulate in Barcelona, a new representation aimed at strengthening institutional, economic, cultural, academic, and tourist relations between Oman and Spain, which will be led by businessman Pablo Caralps.
The inauguration ceremony took place at the new consular headquarters in Barcelona and was attended by the ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman in Spain, Thamir Al Alawi; the deputy delegate of the Government in Catalonia, José Crespín; the conseller d’Unió Europea i Acció Exterior of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Jaume Duch; the dean of the Consular Corps of Barcelona, Rosana Surballe; as well as representatives from the diplomatic and consular corps, public institutions, security forces, and the business and social sectors.
The opening of this new representation “reflects the Sultanate of Oman’s desire to continue strengthening its ties with Spain and to expand its institutional presence in one of the main economic, business, and innovation centers in southern Europe,” according to a statement from the Omani Embassy sent to DiplomacyNews.
During the event, the authorities highlighted the excellent relationship between Oman and Spain, as well as the opportunities for collaboration in strategic areas such as tourism, logistics, innovation, renewable energies, education, technology, and business cooperation.
According to the diplomatic representatives of Oman in Spain, the choice of Barcelona to host this new representation responds to the role of the city and Catalonia as “one of the main economic, business, technological, and tourist hubs in the Mediterranean, as well as its growing international projection and capacity to generate collaboration opportunities with global partners.”
The Honorary Consulate, they added, “will work from Barcelona to strengthen relations between Oman and Spain, also facilitating new cooperation opportunities with the business, academic, cultural, and institutional ecosystem of Catalonia.”
The new representation will operate in close coordination with the Omani Embassy in Madrid and will have among its main objectives “supporting institutional relations, promoting investment and business opportunities, fostering academic and cultural initiatives, and strengthening the bonds of friendship between both countries,” the consulted sources assured.
Pablo Caralps: consolidating relations
The newly appointed honorary consul, Pablo Caralps, combines his role as a businessman with that of a university professor and expert in internationalization and relations between Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
In recent years, he has actively collaborated in developing initiatives aimed at bringing Oman and Spain closer together, promoting projects in economic, institutional, academic, cultural, and tourist areas.
“His appointment,” states the Omani Embassy’s statement, “represents the consolidation of a work trajectory aimed at strengthening relations between both countries and promoting new cooperation opportunities between institutions and companies.”
“This inauguration represents an opportunity to continue building bridges between Oman and Spain and to bring our institutions, companies, universities, and societies even closer together. Our goal is to contribute to the development of increasingly solid relations and generate new collaboration opportunities for mutual benefit,” Caralps stated during the event.
Oman and the future vision of Oman Vision 2040
The Sultanate of Oman occupies a unique position among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and is internationally recognized for its stability, its foreign policy based on dialogue, and its ability to create spaces for cooperation and understanding.
Through Oman Vision 2040, the country is promoting an ambitious economic diversification process aimed at developing strategic sectors such as logistics, industry, tourism, the digital economy, innovation, renewable energies, and human capital development.
In this context, Spain and Catalonia present themselves as partners of special interest for strengthening new economic, business, academic, and technological collaboration initiatives.
A new stage of cooperation
The inauguration of the Honorary Consulate of the Sultanate of Oman in Barcelona marks the beginning of a new stage in relations between Oman and Barcelona, Catalonia, and Spain and constitutes a platform to foster new cooperation opportunities between institutions, companies, universities, and organizations from both countries.
With this new representation, the Sultanate of Oman reaffirms its commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and developing initiatives that promote dialogue, collaboration, and mutual understanding.