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'.