Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud al Busaidi, Foreign Minister, has said that the summit between the His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques will witness the launch of a coordination council between the two neighboring countries.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, he said the Saudi-Omani Coordination Council will act as the framework for several agreements between Riyadh and Muscat.
“Coordination and consultations are always necessary, especially between brothers and neighboring countries,” he added. “The Kingdom and the Sultanate share several interests.” Sayyid Badr said.
"The council will pave the way for the next phase in cooperation and the summit will likely witness the signing of several agreements and memoranda of understanding in several fields."
He predicted that relations will witness a qualitative leap in the future, especially in wake of the anticipated historic opening of the first direct land border between them.
That will lead the way for promising logistic projects between them, he predicted.
Asked about Oman’s role at the AlUla summit in January that achieved Gulf reconciliation, he said that from the start, Muscat sought to support the Kuwaiti initiative that was proposed by late Emir Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah and continued by his successor Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah.
“We are now working with the Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers and secretary-general to follow up on the summit between late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos and Sheikh Sabah that was held in AlUla in January 2020,” he continued.
Moreover, he stressed that Saudi Arabia and Oman are closely coordinating their stances over a number of regional issues, starting with the conflict in Yemen.
Yemen, continued the minister, is of great importance on the regional and international scenes.
“We are working tirelessly and constantly to stop the suffering of the brotherly Yemeni people, to end the war and help as much as possible to achieve peace and stability,” the minister said.
Oman supports the Kingdom’s initiative to reach a ceasefire in Yemen, as well as the Riyadh Agreement and the efforts of the United Nations and the United States envoys to the war-torn country.
“Our common goal is ending the conflict according to a solution that respects the concerns of all parties and helps them reach understandings that provide Yemen and the Yemenis with stability and coexistence,” he added.
Albusaidi denied that Oman had proposed a solution to the crisis. He dismissed the claims as rumors that spread when an Omani delegation paid a visit to Sanaa last month.
“There are no Omani initiatives, rather Omani efforts to reach an agreement between all parties,” he clarified.
Asked about the steps the Sultanate has taken to persuade the warring parties to return to negotiations, the Foreign Minister said,“We believe all parties want to resolve the crisis and achieve peace. We are working on achieving that through attempting to bridge divides and address differences between the parties.”
On the Arab scene, the foreign minister said Oman’s support for Syria’s return to the Arab League.
Commenting on relations with Israel, Sayyid Badr denied that Oman will become the third Gulf state, after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, to normalize relations with Israel even though it supports the Abraham Accords.
“Oman believes in the concept of achieving just, comprehensive, and lasting peace based on the two-state solution. We will not be the third Gulf state to normalize ties, but we support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and we respect sovereign decisions of countries as we expect other countries to respect ours,” he stressed.
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