Egypt and Oman keen on taking ties a notch higher

Oman Sunday 26/June/2022 18:47 PM
By: Khaled Orabi
Egypt and Oman keen on taking ties a notch higher
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi

Muscat: The strong ties between the Sultanate of Oman and Egypt are an example not only for the Arab region but a role model for the entire world. The relations between the two countries have historical roots and encompasses political, diplomatic, economic and social dimensions.

With deep-rooted relations between the two great civilizations, the brotherly ties go back to over 4,000 years. One such evidence was the visit of Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut to Dhofar. Even the trade between the two countries goes back to the prehistoric times.

The visit of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi to the Sultanate, which is the third after assuming power in the Arab Republic of Egypt, reflects the keenness of the political leaderships of both the countries and their efforts to support causes common to both the nations.

Egypt values the role the Sultanate plays at all levels in resolving international disputes and conflicts. The Sultanate also holds in great esteem the role Egypt plays in resolving the conflicts and disputes in the interests of the people of the region.

On 4 February 2018, President Abdel Fattah el Sisi paid a three-day visit to the Sultanate, when late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said bin Taimour, during his meeting with the President, hailed the role Egypt plays in stability and security in the region.

The then discussions covered a number of issues of common concern and the international efforts for reaching solutions to issues in the region, particularly in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

The leadership, the government and the people of Egypt take pride in the economic relations between the two countries. Egypt also praises the Sultanate’s economic and diplomatic policies under the Royal Directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik as adopted by the Sultanate under Oman Vision 2040.

The Government of Egypt aspires for further growth in investment and economic cooperation and the level of trade between the two countries and attracting the Sultanate’s investments in Egypt.

The Government of Egypt has always sought to remove all constraints for Omani investors in the energy and oil sectors. The Government of Egypt also encourages the Egyptian businessmen to increase their investments in the Sultanate of Oman.

The trade between Egypt and the Sultanate of Oman amounted to approximately $500 million and the Omani investments in the Egyptian market amounted to $77.5 million distributed into 92 companies operating in the fields of industry, tourism, construction and agriculture.

The Sultanate has always supported Egypt, needless to mention the support during the 1973 October War and Egypt has also praised the role the Sultanate plays in Yemen, in Iran’s nuclear dossier which led to the famous US-Iran nuclear accord.

As part of its keenness accorded to international causes, including the climate change, Egypt will host in November the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, which will see the participation of a number of leaders from various countries and regional and international organisations.

To this end, Egypt has invited the Sultanate to the event and aspires for a high-level representation from the Sultanate.

Egypt praises the way the Sultanate of Oman deals with the Egyptian community in the Sultanate. The members of the Egyptian community in the Sultanate work in various sectors, including education, health and media among other sectors.

The Egyptian community in the Sultanate is the largest among all the Arab nationalities with 65,448 members, a majority of whom are highly educated and employed in education, media, health and accounting fields.