Russian foreign minister says ties with Oman will only grow

2/4/2016 1:36:44 AM

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat-

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Oman shares 'very close approaches' with Russia on regional issues including Yemen Libya and Palestine.

He said the two countries also work together closely on the Syria issue as members of the International Syria Support Group which meets again on February 11 in Vienna.

He was speaking at a press conference in Muscat on Wednesday alongside H E Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs. He said Russia's relations with Oman will grow in a variety of fields in the near future.

'The volume of trade between Russia and Oman has increased although it is still quite modest. But we see the ways to improve the situation further' he said. Russia and Oman agreed on joint visa exemption for diplomatic special and service passports as part of the discussions.

He said he hopes an agreement on investment protection will be finalised 'soon'. 'Russian funds of direct investment showed interest in cooperating with sovereign funds of the Sultanate of Oman. Hopefully we can encourage the contacts during this year in the context of various global economic forums including the St Petersburg Economic Forum' he said.

He added that Russian gas company Gazprom is in talks with Omani businesses while other Russian investors are showing interest in entering pipes production in Oman. He described Russian investment in Sohar as 'one of our biggest investments in the region'.

Lavrov said the group discussed plans to start direct flights between Russia and Oman which will help promote Russian tourism to the sultanate. 'We are fully satisfied with the results of these negotiations which indeed contributed to developing our bilateral relations and helped us develop a better understanding on quite a number of regional issues' he said. Lavrov also met H H Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud al Said Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers as part of his visit.

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