(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Masagos Zulkifli, Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs, who was on a five-day visit to Oman, said that his country sees the sultanate as an emerging strategic point. He said Singapore can help turn Oman into a regional trade hub between the Middle East and Asia.
In an exclusive interview with Muscat Daily at the conclusion of his visit, Zulkifli said that ties with Oman are getting stronger each year. ''Relations between the government of Oman and the government of Singapore have been excellent. The real meaning of what Oman stands for to Singapore where friendship is not just about visiting each other but to start building on each other's advantage,'' he said.
Zulkifli said Oman has provided opportunities for Singapore's businesses to come and invest. ''Oman is planning for its next wave of development and we are happy to share our experience. We have had good opportunities in Salalah and Duqm, and we look forward to more investment opportunities by bringing our expertise and know-how to Oman.''
On areas where Singapore can help Oman, Zulkifli said, ''Water management, waste management, urban planning and public transportation among others are areas where we can provide our expertise.''
On the people to people level, Zulkifli said, there have been lots of exchanges between Oman and Singapore. ''Most prominently, we have been promoting the Jewel of Muscat for three years, and now this dhow is the gateway to the largest aquarium in Asia. Prominently displayed, around 2.5mn people have seen it in two and a half years.''
Speaking about how both countries are strategically located, Zulkifli said, ''There is great respect and understanding for each other to leverage on our position in Asia and for Oman in Middle East and beyond to Africa. The young people of Oman have the potential to compete in the region. Those that I met speak at least two languages and it is unique for Oman which is the same with Singapore,'' he said.
On the volume of trade, Zulkifli said trade between both countries so far has been worth US$3.3bn. ''Recently, Singapore signed the GCC-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and this is the only FTA signed between GCC and any country. We are now looking at internationalising it and this allows us taking off restrictions of trade among us. Together with the building of ports in Duqm and Salalah, more Singaporeans are already enquiring about opportunities of investing in Oman. If all goes well, I see trade among ourselves growing significantly,'' he said.
Zulkifli said that more needs to be done to improve tourism. ''Many Singaporeans don't know that Oman is such a friendly country as they think that if you don't know Arabic, you cannot manage here. But I found out that English is widely spoken in Oman,'' he said.
On plans to open a full-fledged embassy in Oman, Zulkifli said, ''We don't have so many embassies around the world, but I see there is a possibility of opening one here in Oman and my rough guess is there would be
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