Oman ratifies Makkah Convention, advancing OIC framework for cross-border anti-corruption cooperation
By Shahnoor Saqib I SCN NEWS
MUSCAT, Oman — September 28, 2025: Oman moved Sunday to strengthen its participation in an emerging Organisation of Islamic Cooperation framework for cross-border anti-corruption enforcement, with Sultan Haitham bin Tarik issuing a royal decree ratifying the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Convention on Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Cooperation. The decision marks a concrete national legal step toward putting into effect a regional system designed to help authorities cooperate when corruption investigations extend across borders.
Royal Decree 84/2025, issued by Sultan Haitham, ratifies the convention and orders the decree published in Oman's Official Gazette. The decree takes effect from the date of issuance. Oman had signed the convention on May 7, 2025 in the Maldives, according to the text of the decree, making Sunday's action the country's formal move from signature to ratification.
The convention is intended to strengthen cooperation among anti-corruption law-enforcement authorities across OIC member states. Its broader legal foundation reflects the organisation's commitment to cooperation against corruption, organised crime and money laundering, areas where investigations can become significantly more difficult once suspects, evidence, financial transactions or proceeds move beyond a country's jurisdiction. The OIC lists the Makkah Convention among its formal intergovernmental conventions.
Oman's ratification comes as the OIC presses member governments to advance the convention through their domestic legal processes. At the 51st Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Istanbul in June, ministers adopted a dedicated resolution on the Makkah Convention, reiterating the importance of strengthening cooperation among member states in combating corruption and related transnational crimes.
The distinction between signing and ratification is significant. A government's signature demonstrates its intention to support an international agreement, while ratification represents the formal national act through which a state confirms its consent to be bound, subject to the convention's own provisions on entry into force. Oman has now completed that national ratification step through a decree carrying the authority of the Sultan.
For anti-corruption agencies, wider ratification could gradually enlarge the network of jurisdictions able to rely on a common OIC cooperation framework. Complex corruption investigations increasingly involve financial flows, corporate structures, assets and individuals spread across several countries, making direct cooperation between national enforcement bodies important for obtaining information, pursuing evidence and tracing proceeds.
The OIC's Council of Foreign Ministers has also connected progress on the convention with the organisation's next high-level anti-corruption gathering. Azerbaijan is due to host the Third Ministerial Meeting of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities in 2026, creating a further institutional milestone for member states to assess how far the framework has advanced.
Oman's decree therefore adds a national legal action to a process increasingly moving beyond ministerial declarations. The effectiveness of the Makkah Convention will ultimately depend on how widely it is ratified, when its entry-into-force requirements are satisfied and how participating states translate its cooperation provisions into procedures that investigators and prosecutors can use in actual cross-border cases.