BUSINESS REPORTER
MUSCAT, JULY 1
Oman’s Etlaq Spaceport and France’s Latitude have signed a letter of intent (LoI) to cooperate at the first experimental release of a Latitude rocket from Oman, marking a brand new milestone within the rising strategic partnership between the Sultanate and France within the area sector.
The settlement used to be signed at the sidelines of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s state consult with to France, all the way through which His Majesty met French President Emmanuel Macron. The signing underscores increasing bilateral cooperation in complex industries, generation and the gap economic system.
Underneath the settlement, Etlaq, Oman’s business spaceport operator, and Latitude, a French business release carrier supplier, will identify a framework for the primary experimental release of Latitude’s release car from Etlaq Spaceport. The release is these days focused for overdue 2027.
The 2 corporations can even paintings in combination on growing the essential flooring infrastructure, operational making plans and regulatory arrangements required to improve long term release operations.
HH Azzan Kais al Stated, Leader Govt Officer of Etlaq, mentioned the settlement represents crucial step in positioning Oman as an rising business area hub.
“We are proud to welcome Latitude as our latest partner at Etlaq. This collaboration marks a significant milestone, not just for Etlaq, but for the broader relationship between Oman and France, two nations with a shared vision for what space can unlock for humanity. Working with partners like Latitude strengthens our capabilities and reinforces the growing confidence international players have in Oman as a space hub. We look forward to building a partnership that cements Etlaq’s role as a key gateway to space, and we are proud that France is part of that journey,” he mentioned.
Latitude Chairman of the Strategic Committee Olivier Zarrouati mentioned the settlement mirrored the strategic significance each nations connect to growing unbiased get admission to to area.
“Space has become an arena where tomorrow’s strategic balances are being shaped. This signing, on the sidelines of the meeting between President Macron and His Majesty the Sultan, is no coincidence: it reflects the shared ambition of France and Oman to build an independent space capability together. Latitude is proud to be its industrial vehicle,” he mentioned.
Etlaq’s location close to the equator supplies beneficial stipulations for launching satellites into low Earth orbit, sun-synchronous orbit and mid-inclination trajectories from a unmarried website, providing business operators higher flexibility for long term missions.
Officers mentioned the partnership represents step one against organising Latitude’s long-term presence in Oman whilst supporting the Sultanate of Oman’s ambitions to construct a aggressive business area ecosystem. The settlement additionally displays self assurance in Oman’s evolving regulatory framework for area actions, which is designed to facilitate global release operations and draw in international area corporations.
The cooperation helps Oman Imaginative and prescient 2040 via selling high-value generation industries, encouraging global partnerships and strengthening the Sultanate’s place as an rising regional hub for business area actions.
