Thursday 18 / April / 2024
Muscat: Yousuf 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 on Tuesday.
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.
Historic ties
“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 programme at logistic, mining, industry and tourism fields.
Investment opportunities
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.
Political talks
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 détente, 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.
