JEDDAH, 23 December 2006 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s landmark visit to Oman, beginning today, reflects the strong relations between the two GCC countries, said Omani Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Saeed Al-Kalabani.
King Abdullah and Sultan Qaboos are expected to discuss major regional and international issues including Iraq and Palestine, and ways of boosting bilateral ties.
This is Abdullah’s first visit to Oman after taking over power in August 2005. The visit follows the successful Dec. 9-10 summit in Riyadh that brought together all GCC leaders including Sultan Qaboos. King Abdullah held talks with Qaboos on the sidelines of the summit. The two countries have agreed to establish a border point in order to facilitate transportation and enhance trade relations.
Increasing trade exchange is likely to figure high at the Saudi-Oman summit talks in Muscat as the present volume of trade accounts for only 7.6 percent of the total trade exchange between the Kingdom and GCC countries, amounting to SR2.3 billion, according to statistics issued last year. Trade balance is in favor of Saudi Arabia, which exported goods worth SR1.37 billion against Oman’s exports to the Kingdom worth SR910 million.
Al-Kalabani denied reports that Saudi Arabia was making efforts to convince Oman to join the GCC monetary union scheduled to be launched in 2010. “GCC countries have taken into consideration the special situation of Oman and understood its viewpoint,” he said.
A GCC official said before the Riyadh summit that Oman was not ready to join the monetary union. “Rather than delay the process, they want the other countries to move ahead, and they can join at a later date,” he said.
GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah said the GCC was proceeding with the 2010 preliminary deadline for the monetary union. The six countries have agreed to five criteria for a European Union-style economic union, including capping budget deficits at three percent of gross domestic product, capping public debt at 60 percent of GDP and inflation at the GCC average plus two percent.
Interest rates are to be no higher than the average of the lowest three states plus two percent and countries must have foreign exchange reserves to cover four to six months of imports.
Saudi Arabia and Oman reached an agreement on a border point during talks between Interior Minister Prince Naif and his Omani counterpart Saud Al-Bousaeedi in Riyadh earlier this month. The border point will be operational within two years.
“All measures have been taken by relevant agencies in both countries to establish the border point facilities, pave the roads and build other installations,” a joint statement said after Riyadh talks. Saudi Arabia occupies 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula and Oman occupies its southeastern corner.
In a related development, King Abdullah recently ordered that the Omani conjoined twins, Safa and Marwa, be separated at King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh.
“King Abdullah has given instructions to conduct necessary tests on the two children at the medical city in order to study prospects of separating them,” said Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, head of National Guard Health Affairs. Al-Rabeeah, who headed a team of surgeons to separate a number of conjoined twins at the hospital in recent years, praised the king for his humanitarian gesture.
“This reflects the king’s love and care for people in other parts of the world,” he added. The conjoined baby girls are part of triplets born to an Omani couple. Their brother was born separately. The twins were airlifted to Riyadh yesterday.
