Oman–United Arab Emirates border

Agreed in stages

The border from Umm Al Zamul, where Oman, the UAE and Saudi Arabia meet, to east of Oqaidat was delineated under an agreement signed in Sohar on 1 May 1999. In July 2008 the two countries signed the final coordinates and maps for the remaining 272 km, from east of Oqaidat to Al Dara on the Gulf, marked on the ground with border posts, completing the delineation of their whole land border. Only the exact tripoint with Saudi Arabia was left to define.^[1]

Al Ain and Buraimi

The line between the oasis towns of Al Ain in the UAE and Buraimi in Oman was drawn in 1972, and a fence topped with barbed wire now marks it. For years many people working in Al Ain lived more cheaply in Buraimi and crossed daily at Al Mudeef. In July 2008, to curb illegal immigration, that crossing was closed: Gulf citizens could still use Al Hili, but others had to go through a new post at Khatam al Shakla, about 20 km away, and have their passports stamped. Buraimi shopkeepers told The National they feared losing their customers.^[2]

“These are for apartments that are now empty because people have had to move to Al Ain”^[2]

Madha and Nahwa

In the Hajar mountains, the villages chose their rulers. About seventy years before 2012, the elders of Madha were asked whom they wanted, and, unlike their neighbours who sided with what are now Sharjah, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah, they chose the sultan of Oman, partly to protect their water. Madha is a 75-hectare piece of Oman surrounded by the UAE, and inside it lies Nahwa, about 40 houses belonging to Sharjah: the only counter-enclave in the Middle East. Unlike the UAE’s other borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia, there is no barrier around Madha.^[3]