'US presidential election result will not affect ties with Oman'

Muscat: US Ambassador to Oman Marc J Sievers on Monday assured the Omani people when he said that Omanis and Americans will continue to share a close relationship regardless of the US November elections outcome.
“I know that many people in Oman and around the world are closely following our election campaign. I can assure you that no matter what the outcome of this November’s presidential elections will be, we will continue to cooperate closely with the Sultanate.”
He said this in his speech at the 240th Independence celebration of the United States of America held, in the presence of Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs and other dignitaries.
The November elections have been a cause of concern for the Muslim and Arab world, particularly because of the controversial remarks by the Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.
Trump drew strong criticism from many parts of the Muslim world and his Republican rivals after he called last year for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”.
Times of Oman also reported last year that retail giant ‘Landmark Group’ in Oman, pulled Trump home-branded products off its shelves in response to Trump’s call to ban Muslims.
However, ambassador Sievers has assured the Omani people that their relations will continue
to develop regardless of the election results.
“We will seek to strengthen and expand our business ties. We will find new ways to collaborate on science and technology issues, and we will continue to create new opportunities for peer exchanges, to bring Omanis and Americans even closer together.”
At the celebrations, the ambassador also conveyed the best wishes of President Barack Obama to Oman and called His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said one of his country’s main allies.
“Sultan Qaboos is one of my country’s strongest partners, and we look forward to continuing to work with His Majesty’s government to advance the cause of peace, prosperity, and security in this region and beyond.”
The Omani-American ties date back over 183 years, and the two countries have been sharing productive relations ever since.
Only fourteen years after the US Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the crew of the Boston Rambler, an American trade ship, landed in Muscat.
The US signed a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with Oman in 1833, the first treaty of its kind with an Arab state.
Oman sent an official envoy, Ahmad bin Na’aman bin Muhsin bin Abdulla Al-Kaabi Al-Bahrani, to the United States in 1840. “The United States remains a steadfast partner of all the Arab Gulf countries, and I am pleased to tell you that there is great appreciation in Washington for Oman’s distinguished role in promoting peaceful solutions to regional conflicts.”