Oman’s Sultan visited Saudi Arabia on Sunday on his first official overseas trip since assuming power last year, with talks expected to focus on the Yemen war and economic and investment cooperation as Muscat looks to shore up its finances.
Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, whose country has joined United Nations-led efforts to secure a peace initiative in Yemen, arrived in the Red Sea city of NEOM for a two-day visit.
He was greeted by Saudi King Salman – in what Saudi media said was the 85-year-old monarch’s first face-to-face meeting since the coronavirus pandemic began – and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia and Oman will establish a joint council to oversee several agreements, Oman’s foreign minister Badr al-Busaidi told the Saudi-owned Asharq Alawsat newspaper on Saturday.
He said the opening of a delayed new road linking the two Gulf states would facilitate logistics and other infrastructure projects. –Agencies
