http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=90380&d=25&m=12&y=2006
Saudi-Oman Ties Get Big Boost Arab News MUSCAT, 25 December 2006 --- Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Sultan Qaboos of Oman held talks here yesterday on major regional and international issues and explored ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation in all areas, an official statement after their meeting at Al-Alam Palace said. "The two leaders discussed the latest developments at Gulf, Arab, Islamic and international levels and the stands of the two countries toward them," said the statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. The talks were attended by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Director of Intelligence Prince Muqrin, State Minister Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Fahd, Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani and Saudi Ambassador Abdullah Aalam. On the Omani side, the major participants were: Heritage and Culture Minister Haithem ibn Tarek Al-Saeed, Foreign Minister Yousuf ibn Alawi Abdullah, National Economy Minister Ahmed Makki, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Salim Al-Khaleeli and Omani Ambassador to Riyadh Saeed Al-Kalabani. In a previous statement, Omani Foreign Minister Abdullah said the Saudi-Omani summit talks in Muscat would cover all the important issues. "They have discussed most issues at the Dec. 9-10 GCC summit in Riyadh. Now, their talks will focus on the latest developments in Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon," he said. King Abdullah arrived here on Saturday at the head of a high-level delegation, his first after ascending to the throne in August 2005. Officials in both countries said the three-day royal visit would strengthen relations between the two GCC neighbors. As a manifestation of their close relations, King Abdullah conferred on Sultan Qaboos the King Abdul Aziz Medallion, the Kingdom's top honor. Qaboos reciprocated by awarding the king the Medal of Oman of the first order. The medals were exchanged during a ceremony here Saturday night. Oman has attached great importance to Abdullah's visit. "The king's visit is aimed at promoting bilateral relations and discussing major regional, Arab and international issues," said Omani Ambassador Al-Kalabani. The two countries recently signed an agreement on a border point. Trade between the two countries is to get a major boost as it was to figure high at the summit talks. Bilateral trade exchange amounted to SR2.3 billion last year, but the figure accounted for only 7.6 percent of the total trade exchange between the Kingdom and GCC countries. The trade balance is in favor of Saudi Arabia, which exported goods worth SR1.37 billion to Oman last year. Empowerment of the Gulf Cooperation Council, that groups Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE, is another expected result of the royal visit as both King Abdullah and Sultan Qaboos have been campaigning for a strong GCC. "Saudi Arabia and Oman believe that a strong GCC is essential to make the group more influential," said Saudi Ambassador Abdullah Aalam. +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
