Oman, Germany ink agreement for mutual visa exemption

Muscat: Oman and Germany inked an agreement for mutual visa exemption for the holder of the official biometric passport.
The agreement was inked when Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs received Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Federal Republic of Germany and his accompanying delegation yesterday.
During the meeting, the leaders exchanged viewpoints on the regional and international situations and the latest developments in the region.
They also discussed existing bilateral cooperation between the two countries and means of enhancing them in various economic and investment fields.
The two sides expressed their satisfaction on the level of the bilateral relations, stressing the
importance of following-up and promoting these relations.
The meeting was attended by Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry and a number of officials in the ministry, while it was attended from the German side by Hans-Christian Freiher, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Sultanate and a number of officials in the German Foreign Ministry.
Syria issue
Steinmeier hailed the role played by Oman in integrating balance in the region and its continuous endeavours to find peaceful solutions to different issues and conflicts at a press conference at the
foreign ministry.
He said “We were re- briefed on the role through the Syrian crisis and came to a common assessment with the Sultanate that what we have started in Vienna through the two international conferences and had concluded in Vienna with the announcement of cessation of all hostilities is the base for improving the humanitarian aid services in Syria.”
He pointed out that the bilateral issues between the two friendly countries have topped the discussion and that they agreed to enhance them in the future.
He added that 2016 is the year at which talks will be made on the senior official level - an event that takes place regularly every two years with the aim of maximising the relations.