THE visit of Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs of Oman Sheikh Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Salmi, who is a key figure in theCabinet of Sultan Qaboos and has rich knowledge and background of Islam and the issue of inter-faith harmony, assumes special significance as it came in the backdrop of a host of initiatives undertaken by the Sultanate to promote the cause of Islam and the Muslim Ummah in a highly polarized world. The visit has provided opportunity to the visiting Minister and Pakistani leadership to harmonize their strategies for the purpose and strengthen the bonds of bilateral friendship further.
Oman is considered to be a model of development and religious freedom – thanks to the visionary policies of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. One must pay tribute to the leadership qualities of Sultan Qaboos and his team that despite being in the conflict-prone region, they have succeeded to maintain neutrality and pursued policies that ensured continued progress and prosperity besides boosting security of the nation. Oman has also been contributing to regional and global peace and security and apart from other things it has consistently been striving to promote religious and societal tolerance to bridge gulf of misunderstanding among cultures and faiths. Over a year ago, it launched a major initiative “Towards United Human Values” to promote religious tolerance, mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence. The initiative, which is also known as the Sultan Qaboos Declaration Project on United Human Values, was launched by Oman’s Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Salmi at a celebration to mark the International Day for Tolerance in Jakarta. The Omani Minister for Religious Affairs, who has been speaking at a number of local and international forums, lays stress on the philosophy that human societies should live on three principles of ethics, reason and justice. We are sure that interaction between the leadership of the two countries would not only brighten prospects of a united campaign for inter-faith harmony but also boost bilateral cooperation in different fields. There is a lot of goodwill between the two countries but the level of their economic and commercial interaction leaves much to be desired and hopefully this aspect would be taken care of for mutual good.
