Strong engagement marks first Oman-Netherlands Water Taskforce Working Group sessions

The meetings, organised by the Netherlands Water Partnership in close collaboration with Omani counterparts, marked an important next step in strengthening cooperation between both countries in the water sector. The sessions demonstrated strong mutual interest in practical solutions, capacity development and long-term collaboration.

Dutch and Omani water experts connect on groundwater, water reuse and resource efficiency

The first working group meeting, held jointly with Nama Water Services on 12 May, focused on two themes identified by Nama.

1. Integrated water management, covering both groundwater and treated effluent (TE) water resources.
2. Decentralised small sewage treatment plants From Planning to Execution.

The attendees heard about Oman’s ambitions and challenges in integrated water resource management and decentralised wastewater treatment. The presentations by Nama Water Services gave valuable insights on the Sultanate’s current developments and future priorities.

Dutch organisations shared a wide range of expertise and practical experiences. Contributions by NX Filtration, Royal Haskoning, and Konkaav sparked lively discussions on innovative treatment technologies, decentralised solutions and integrated approaches to water reuse and resource management.

The second working group meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources (MAFWR), held on 13 May, centred around the following topics.

• Capacity development: monitoring groundwater use in agriculture through GIS and remote sensing applications.
• Assessing the water footprint to enhance resource efficiency.

The informative presentations by MAFWR highlighted the growing importance of data-driven water management and resource efficiency in the agricultural sector. The Hague Academy for Local Governance, Field Factors, and Water Footprint Implementation shared valuable information at the session. Together with the other Dutch attendees, they discussed practical examples and methodologies and lessons learned from Dutch and international projects on remote sensing applications, water footprint methodologies and institutional capacity development.

Collaborative dialogue sparks new opportunities in Oman-Netherlands water cooperation

Both meetings were characterised by open dialogue, active participation and a clear willingness from both Omani and Dutch stakeholders to continue the exchange beyond these initial sessions. Several follow-up meetings and opportunities for further collaboration were proposed during the discussions.

The strong engagement from all participants reflects the growing momentum in the Oman-Netherlands Water Taskforce and underlines the value of continued knowledge exchange between the Dutch and Omani water sectors. Participants expressed their appreciation of the quality of the discussions and are looking forward to future opportunities to collaborate on the themes brought forward by Nama Water Services and MAFWR.

A special thanks go to all speakers and contributors for sharing their expertise and experiences, as well as to the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Oman and our valued partners and friends at the Oman Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources and Nama Water Services for their continued collaboration and support.

Oman-Netherlands Water Taskforce

While bilateral cooperation between Oman and the Netherlands has been ongoing for many years, it was intensified in 2017 when the Oman Netherlands Water Taskforce was established. The Taskforce comes together to strengthen the water relationship between the two countries and explore concrete opportunities for knowledge exchange and water cooperation. 

The Taskforce comprises a government-to-government (G2G) body, with representatives from the government bodies/ministries of Oman and the Netherlands, Nama Water Services, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Oman. It is led by the Netherlands Water Partnership. In addition to the G2G body, two thematic Taskforce Working Groups have been created. 

Since its inception, there have been numerous successful follow-up meetings and exchanges of ideas and recommendations. In 2025, a key focus of the Taskforce meetings was the further development of the Oman-Netherlands Water Roadmap, which outlines joint priorities for the coming two years. NWP, in close coordination with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Muscat, MAFWR, and Nama Water Group, supports the execution of this Roadmap that involves the Dutch water sector through the Working Groups. The online sessions on 12 and 13 May were the Working Groups’ first active events. 

The cooperation is ongoing and is creating new opportunities for the Dutch water sector. We thus warmly encourage Dutch organisations interested in the Omani water market to reach out to NWP. With our strong local network and in-depth understanding of Oman’s water landscape, we are well-positioned to support Dutch organisations to enter or expand their presence in this dynamic and evolving sector.