Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold talks with Foreign Minister of Oman Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi on Wednesday. The head of the Russian diplomatic office is also expected to meet with Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers Fahd bin Mahmoud Al-Said.
Lavrov's last trip to Muscat was six years ago.
For strengthening ties
Moscow and Muscat have previously expressed an intention to consistently step up efforts to further expand and strengthen multifaceted bilateral ties.
Both countries maintain a regular political dialogue. In 2016, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko made a working visit to Oman. In 2019, the head of the foreign ministry of Oman visited Russia twice, another round of inter-ministerial consultations at the level of deputy ministers was held in Salalah in August 2019. In 2020, Sergey Naryshkin, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, visited the Sultanate and discussed the situation in the Middle East with the Head of Intelligence of Oman, Munthir bin Majid al Said.
Although there is no intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation between the countries, economic cooperation is developing. The first Russian-Omani business summit was held in St. Petersburg in 2016, and the second event was held a year later in Muscat. 45 Russian regions support trade and economic relations with Oman to a greater or lesser extent. In the energy sector, JSC "Zarubezhneft" and JSC "Rosgeologiya" were interested in establishing cooperation with the Omani side.
In 2018, Iran and Oman signed a preliminary agreement on a project to build a gas pipeline from Iran to the Omani port of Sohar. It was reported that Iran was then interested in Gazprom's participation in the construction of this pipeline.
On the humanitarian front, the most active development has been Russian-Omanian cooperation in education, culture and tourism.
The favorable location on the coast of the Gulf of Oman, beautiful landscapes, preservation of the Arab identity and developed tourism infrastructure make Oman especially attractive for foreign travelers. Now the "land of 500 fortresses" - so the Sultanate is called because of the large number of forts - is open to Russian tourists. Before the pandemic, up to 15 thousand Russian tourists visited Oman annually. In December 2020, the Sultanate unilaterally introduced a visa-free travel regime for up to 14 days for citizens of 103 countries (including Russia).
Common threats
Moscow and Muscat stand in solidarity for the early resolution of existing conflicts in the region through the establishment of an inclusive national dialogue, based on international law and the provisions of the UN Charter.
Both countries have close or overlapping approaches in favor of a reliable and long-term political resolution of the remaining crises and conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, and promotion of the principles of good neighborliness, mutual respect and joint response to new challenges and threats in this part of the world. The situation in Syria, Libya, Yemen, the Persian Gulf zone, as well as in the Palestinian-Israeli direction has not yet been finally resolved.
Ensuring security in the Persian Gulf zone is one of the key regional problems of our time to which Russia pays special attention. Any military-political upheavals or outbursts of terrorist activity in this region of the world, where enormous reserves of hydrocarbon resources are concentrated, are fraught with destructive consequences for the world's economic and, above all, energy security.
In this connection, Russia has made public its concept of security in the Persian Gulf, which was recently updated. There is a format for a strategic dialogue between the Russian Federation and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf (GCC), whose fourth meeting was held in 2016.
As part of the fight against piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia, Russian warships make business visits to the ports of Muscat and Salalah.
Mysterious mediator
Experts note that the Oman's policy under the former monarch Qaboos bin Said Al Said is unique for the states of the Middle East, and especially for the Arab monarchies of the Gulf: it is very cautious, multi-vector and independent. This is evidenced by the fact that even within the GCC, the Sultanate has always tried to pursue its own policy, not afraid to maintain relations with those whom some partners in the association consider their enemy, including Iran. At the same time, no one condemns it for this.
Although it is a very small state, it is known to play a significant mediating role in the resolution of some conflicts. Vitaly Naumkin, Scientific Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted that Oman has mediated between a number of regional powers and Western powers and enjoys the trust of such states as Great Britain, with which the sultanate has always had especially close relations, the United States and other countries.
Oman also mediates in Yemeni affairs. For example, 14 foreigners have recently been released in Yemen thanks to the Sultanate's efforts.
The Sultanate has also made efforts in the Syrian direction. For example, previously worked together with Russia and other countries in the Vienna negotiation process on Syria. In addition, experts believe that Oman has not invested huge amounts of money to support anti-Assad forces in Syria. The Sultanate was the first Gulf Arab state to return its ambassador to Syria.
Oman had a special role in the negotiation process of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program. The negotiation process until an agreement on a nuclear deal was 12 years in the making; behind the scenes, the Americans were negotiating with the Iranians, and the negotiations were conducted, as experts note, in Oman. It is quite possible that the JCPOA will be a topic of conversation between the parties.
Russia's renewed concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf.
Russia's special military operation in Ukraine will certainly not go unnoticed during the talks. Oman's position on the situation in Ukraine has not recently appeared in open sources, but before the start of Russia's special military operation, in late January, the Sultanate's Foreign Ministry circulated a message in which it expressed concern about the situation in Ukraine. The Omani diplomatic office then called on the international community to redouble diplomatic efforts to overcome the crisis in accordance with the principles of international law and humanitarian values.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS