Oman: Top US general visits Khasab air base
General Mackenzie, Central Command’s Commander-in-chief, and team on official 3-day visit
Muscat: General Kenneth Mackenzie, Commander-in-Chief of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), and his accompanying delegation, currently on a three-day official visit to Oman, visited the Khasab air-base recently.
The visiting team to the Sultanate was welcomed by Major General Pilot Khamis bin Hammad Al Ghafri, Commander of the Royal Air Force of Oman.
US Ambassador to Oman, Leslie M. Tso and the US military Defense Attaché in Muscat accompanied the delegation in their visit to the Air base in Khasab as well as to the Naval Base in Musandam.
A briefing was given to the visiting team about the monitoring and coordination of international ships and oil tankers’ passage, and also on the search and rescue operations, through strategic Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz lies between Oman and Iran and links the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman to the south and to Arabian Sea beyond. Strait of Hormuz, is a highly important strategic location for international trade.
New president
The CENTCOM Commander-in-chief had visited Israel last month in what was termed as the first high-level visit by a top American official to that country since the new US president Joe Biden took charge.
Oman and the United States share a long and stable friendship that date back to over 200 years. The two countries continue to collaborate closely on regional security and stability, as well as economic prosperity and trade. In 1972, the United States opened its Embassy in the capital of Muscat and the Sultanate opened its embassy in Washington D.C. the following year.