Pakistan and Oman have opened talks to designate Gwadar Port and Oman’s Sohar Port as “sister ports,” a move officials say would create a direct maritime corridor linking the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Gulf and Central Asian markets.
The proposal was discussed at a meeting between Gwadar Port Authority Chairman Noor Ul Haq Baloch and Oman’s Consul General in Pakistan, Sami Abdullah Salim Al Khanjari, according to Dawn and Muscat Daily. Pakistan’s Ambassador to Oman, Syed Naveed Safdar Bokhari, was also involved in the discussions. Both sides have agreed to work through their respective ministries to finalize a memorandum of understanding (MoU) “in the coming weeks.”
What a Sister-Port Deal Would Mean
A sister-port arrangement is a formal cooperation framework rather than a merger or joint ownership structure. For Gwadar and Sohar, officials say it would focus on a handful of practical areas: aligning shipping schedules and cargo-handling procedures, sharing technical expertise, and giving shippers a more direct route between Pakistan’s deep-water port on the Arabian Sea and Oman’s major industrial port on the Gulf of Oman.
“Connectivity is an important area where both sides are engaging,” Pakistan’s ambassador to Oman said, according to Hellenic Shipping News, adding that the two countries are “looking at how to promote connectivity between the ports” and strengthen logistics cooperation.
The stated goal is to give CPEC-linked cargo — much of it currently routed through longer sea lanes — a shorter path into Gulf shipping networks and onward to Central Asia, positioning Gwadar as a more active transshipment link rather than a standalone terminal.
Technical Cooperation, Free Zone Investment and Air Links Also on the Table
Beyond shipping schedules, the discussions covered several other areas where the two ports and countries could work together:
- Technical cooperation in port management, dredging, and digital port operations, along with training and capacity-building for Gwadar’s port staff.
- Omani investment opportunities in the Gwadar Free Zone, with logistics, warehousing, and fisheries named as priority sectors.
- Joint ventures between Pakistani and Omani firms in warehousing and fisheries-related trade.
- Direct air connectivity between Gwadar and Oman via SalamAir, using Gwadar International Airport, which has had limited scheduled commercial traffic since opening.
None of these areas has yet moved from discussion to signed agreement. Officials describe the meeting as the starting point for a formal MoU process, with technical and investment details to be worked out separately once the sister-port framework itself is in place.
Why Oman Is Looking at Gwadar
The timing matters. Gwadar has faced a persistent gap between its built capacity — a deep-water port, an expressway to the port area, and a new international airport — and the volume of commercial cargo actually moving through it. Regional competition has sharpened that pressure: Iran’s Chabahar Port, roughly 170 kilometers to the west, has been positioned by Iran and India as an alternative route into Afghanistan and Central Asia, and comparisons between the two ports’ throughput have become a recurring theme in coverage of Gwadar’s progress.
For Oman, a working link to Gwadar offers a shorter maritime route toward CPEC-connected trade and a foothold in a port where Chinese investment has continued to back the project despite Gwadar’s slow ramp-up in commercial shipping volume. Any Omani investment in the Free Zone would also add a Gulf-based commercial partner to a project that has so far relied almost entirely on Chinese and Pakistani state financing.
What Happens Next
Nothing here is finalized. Both governments still need to negotiate and sign an MoU through their transport and foreign ministries, and none of the figures typically attached to major port deals — investment amounts, cargo targets, or a firm timeline for the SalamAir route — have been released. What has been confirmed is the direction of travel: Pakistan and Oman intend to move the sister-port concept from an ambassador-level conversation into a formal framework “in the coming weeks,” per the officials cited above.
Gwadar Post will follow the MoU process and report further details — investment figures, signing dates, and specific port-management commitments — once they are confirmed by Pakistani or Omani authorities.
Sources: Dawn, Muscat Daily, Hellenic Shipping News