UK to increase training effort in Oman

Land May 28, 2016

The UK will increase its short-term training effort in Oman by a third this year, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon MP has announced.

The commitment came as Mr Fallon met the Omani Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs, His Excellency Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harub Al Busaidi, to review the defence relationship between the two countries. They also signed a new defence Memorandum of Understanding.

Britain’s Armed Forces plan to deploy 45 short-term training teams to Oman in 2016, compared with the annual average of 34. These teams will play a key role in training Omani troops on a range of core skills such as crisis management, instructing medical teams in combat response and teaching engineers how to use vital equipment.

The uplift complements a comprehensive programme of exercises which includes a four-day maritime exercise focusing on sea mine threats and a six-week land exercise to train Omani troops on how to operate in a mountainous environment. The UK also intends to look at options for a permanent training facility in the country.

The meeting follows a visit to Oman in March where Mr Fallon announced the intention to develop a multimillion pound joint venture between British defence company Babcock International and the Oman Drydock company.
The agreement, supporting development at the booming Duqm Port complex, will provide vital engineering support to the world’s naval vessels.

Mr Fallon said: “This training uplift underlines the commitment we made in our Strategic Defence and Security Review to increase our partnerships in the Gulf region. Oman is our friend. We are working more closely than ever with them across military, counter-terrorism and intelligence fields to tackle shared threats to stability.”

International Michael Fallon MOD Oman Training UK