Egypt plays a fundamental role in Arab world, says Oman's Foreign Minister

Business Sunday 04/February/2018 23:28 PM
By: Times News Service
Egypt plays a fundamental role in Arab world, says Oman's Foreign Minister

Muscat: Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, affirmed the Sultanate's welcome to Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, who is currently on a State visit to the Sultanate, as an Arab president of a sisterly Arab state with great responsibilities.
In a joint interview with the Oman News Agency (ONA) and the Egyptian Middle East News Agency (MENA) on the occasion of the Egyptian president's visit, he said that the Sultanate has been keen for a long time since His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said took power in the country to communicate with the sisterly Egypt in various stages of the Arab nation since more than forty years.
He added that the Sultanate views Egypt as "the crutch of the Arab nation, and today it is also the platform that brings the Arab nation together and its role is recognised and is increasing."
He added that this is the first visit of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since taking office in Egypt, and it is an excellent opportunity to exchange views with His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, while supporting Arab solidarity and expanding cooperation in all fields between the Sultanate and Egypt.
The Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs stressed that the relations of the two countries are constantly developing and they seek more development. He pointed out that the Sultanate and Egypt share a common thought and understanding which is to support stability and achieve peace first in the Middle East and the world. He stressed that Egypt plays a fundamental role, especially in relation to the Palestinian cause and other issues.
The Sultanate is therefore, pleased with this historic meeting between His Majesty the Sultan and President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.
He explained that the Sultanate and Egypt are in continuous contact and coordination of what is new in the various frameworks, pointing out that a new platform is being discussed to deal with the remnants of the problems existing in the region.
He explained that Egypt has a great international weight and that the future of Arab solidarity is based on new principles that deal with the different global tracks, which is the way that we should use to look into things and see their benefits and the possibilities of linking the path of Arab solidarity to the course of solidarity and common interests with the different countries of the world.
On the most important pillars of the foreign policy of the Sultanate, Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, said "The principles are the well-known principles and that Arab issues are our issues. Our vision is the vision of the Arabs as we seek to achieve security, peace and stability. These principles are in the Omani politics. We believe that the Arab world and the Arab countries are on the same path, which is facing the overgrowth of population."
With regard to the vision of the Sultanate in the face of the threat of terrorism and extremism, which threaten not only the Arab world, but the whole world, he said that it is clear that violence and extremism has become under control and what we hear and see is remnants and is declining, but the remnants of violence will remain in the region for reasons of economic growth and population explosion. He added that we should look for the means that help and prepare the new generation of young people to work for the development and building communities with a positive diversity.
Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs also talked about the economic cooperation between the Sultanate and Egypt, stressing that the economic cooperation and exchange of experiences between the two sides exist and these issues will be discussed by the respective ministers, whether the accompanying ministers of the Egyptian President or from the Omani side, noting that the Joint Committee exists and will continuously hold meetings, and that whenever the opportunity is available for Omanis, whether they are from the private sector or investment institutions will be the pioneers of joint work with the brothers in Egypt.
He also stressed that Arab solidarity is one unit that cannot be untied and that Egypt has played an important role in this course, especially in the Iran-Iraq war, the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and the effort exerted for the liberation of Kuwait. He added that Egypt was at the forefront of the Arab countries which called for concerted international effort to liberate Kuwait, and this is related to the future developments and we hope that there will be no new problem in the region and Egypt's role is important in the arrangement of Arab security, as well as in international relations and between the Arab countries and the various countries of the world. He added that " We also believe that Arab security in its new perspective should be linked to Arab interests with the international community."
On the current situation in the Arab arena in the light of the existing crises, such as the situation in Syria, Yemen and Libya, he stressed that these crises are of concern to everyone. He expressed his belief that they started to decline in all regions, whether in Syria, Yemen or Libya, but they require doubling efforts and good insight into settling these differences. He said " Violence has begun to decline, but what after violence? It is the major task facing Arab countries and peoples through the reconstruction and restoration of culture, the culture of the Middle East, which is based on the Arab-Islamic culture.'
He said in this regard: "We should show some patience and not be in a hurry, in order to be able to control the issues consensually among all the Arab countries, and what has been destroyed is built. We also hope that this will be a shared responsibility not only between the Arab countries, because what happened in this region is something that history has not mentioned in the past centuries and therefore the outlook for the future should be the dominant one."
On the upcoming Arab Summit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia next March and the hopes of this summit, the Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs stressed that there is no doubt that the brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are exerting their efforts and will exert an effort that will undoubtedly provide the appropriate environment for the meeting of the Arab leaders and the future of the Arab joint solidarity and how to get rid of the effects of what is known as the Arab Spring. He said in this regard that the Sultanate will always be supportive in particular to our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
On the means to address the US decision on the situation on Jerusalem, Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah said that these moves come within the framework of the Palestinian cause and not separated from, and about the establishment of a Palestinian State and the United States decision is a unilateral decision and Jerusalem is still part of the Oslo Accords, and should be solved at the end of the negotiations and in the final agreement between Israel and our Palestinian brothers, which is part of the Palestinian State, no doubt about it.