MUSCAT: Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidy, Foreign Minister, on Wednesday received Lord David Cameron, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom.
The two ministers exchanged views on regional developments, most notably the Palestinian issue, and efforts to support the establishment of a ceasefire and achieve a permanent humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip to deal with the catastrophic humanitarian situation there.
They noted that ceasefire is highly needed to allow the entry of relief aid and the release of detainees. They also underscored the need for tangible action to put to practice global consensus about the importance of implementing the Two-State Solution by establishing an independent Palestinian state in accordance with the rules of the international law.
The two sides agreed on the need to continue efforts to contain conflicts so that they would not expand regionally.
The meeting dealt with means of developing projects of joint cooperation in all fields. The two sides called for convening the next meeting of the Omani-British working group in Muscat as soon as possible.
The meeting was attended by Shaikh Khalifa bin Ali al Harthy, Under-Secretary of the Foreign Ministry for Diplomatic Affairs, Munthir bin Mahfoudh al Mantheri, Head of the Europe Department at the Foreign Ministry, Dr Liane Saunders, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Sultanate of Oman and officials from both sides.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called his organisation's Palestinian refugee agency the "backbone" of Gaza aid on Wednesday after several countries suspended funding over Israeli claims.
"Yesterday, I met with donors to listen to their concerns and to outline the steps we are taking to address them... UNRWA is the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza," Guterres told a UN committee on Palestinian rights.
Withholding UNRWA funding was "perilous and would result in the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza," the heads of the UN agencies said in a joint statement on Tuesday. — Agencies
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