Muscat, Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister
Responsible for Foreign Affairs will pay an official visit to the People’s
Republic of China during 14 and 15 May 2018, said Ali bin Mohammed
al-Mahri, Head of Media Affairs Sector at the Foreign Ministry during a
press conference held at the Ministry’s premises today.
He affirmed that the visit comes within the framework of the
historic relations binding the Sultanate and the friendly People’s
Republic of China and stemming from the joint keenness to enhance
cooperation and coordination to develop the economic, commercial and
investment avenues between the two friendly countries. China, which
has important joint interests, plays a highly esteemed role in promoting
peace and stability in the Middle East and the world.
The Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs will be
accompanied by an official delegation comprising officials from the
Foreign Ministry, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) and the State
General Reserve Fund (SGRF). He will meet with Chinese officials to
discuss avenues of the bilateral cooperation between the two friendly
countries and how to enhance and develop them.
During the visit, invitation will be forwarded to the People’s
Republic of China to play an active role in the development projects in
the Sultanate especially the economic diversification projects. The
Sultanate is also interested in enhancing economic and investment
relations with the People’s Republic of China.
“The Omani-Sino relations are historic and there are great investment
and economic interests. Besides being the biggest importer of Omani
crude oil, China is an important economic and trade partner for the
Sultanate. There are also a number of Chinese ventures in the
Sultanate,” al-Mahri added.
“The Omani-Chinese Joint Committee plays an important role in
enhancing economic and trade relations between the two parties to
increase the number of joint ventures. There is multi-party cooperation
with China in many areas, such as ports in Tanzania, Bagamoyo and
Turkey as well,” he furthered.
“There is a common desire to enhance and develop this cooperation
and increase the joint interests especially in the field of investment and
creating joint economic and investment partnerships as part of the
economic diversification plans approved by the Sultanate,” he
continued.
He also noted that these projects are connected to the
economic diversification plans and other development projects. Some
of these projects are also included in the Tanfeedh program at logistic,
mining, industry and tourism fields. There are no restrictions for all
countries active in pursuing available investment opportunities, such as
China, Japan and Korea. These countries can benefit from the lucrative
available business opportunities.
“China has good relations and many growing interests with the
countries of the region. China is a partner at number of key economic
and investment projects. The revival of the One Belt One Road initiative
enhances this trend and create great interests for China, the region
and the world. The Sultanate is a member of the new Silk Road
project and a member of the Asian Bank for Investment in
Infrastructure,” he continued.
He pointed out that China, which is a permanent member of the
UN Security Council, contributes to maintaining international peace
and security. The political talks with China will cover the regional issues
in a bid to address the problems and alleviate the tension, which in
turn will achieve peace, security and stability in the region.
“During the visit and as part of the Sultanate’s endeavours to create a
diplomatic atmosphere that facilitate reaching solutions and political
detente, the two sides will discuss a range of issues including the
Iranian nuclear file especially China has great interests in the region
and nearby regions and also plays an important role at the
consultations within the UN or other regional blocs,” the Head of Media
Affairs Sector at the Foreign Ministry concluded.
Source: Oman News Agency