Islamabad: Pakistan and Oman reviewed the entire spectrum of rapid developments and collaboration in political, economic and defence fields during a high-level virtual meeting between the senior officials of the two countries.
During the 7th session of Pakistan-Oman Bilateral Political Consultations, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Under-Secretary Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali bin Isa Al Harthy held a meeting. Both countries agreed to “qualitatively enhance relations in diverse fields, with particular emphasis on economic dimensions.”
The session discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries and means of enhancing them in various fields to serve joint interests of both countries. The session also exchanged viewpoints on various regional and international issues and the efforts exerted to solve issues through peaceful means.
The “consultations encompassed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, including political, economic, commercial, defence and people-to-people ties”, said an official statement by the Pakistan Foreign Office. The “importance of regular exchanges at the highest level was emphasised, along with optimal utilisation of institutional mechanisms such as Joint Ministerial Commission and the Joint Business Council”, the statement added.
Meanwhile, an official statement issued by Oman News Agency said that during the session, Pakistan and Omani officials “discussed bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and ways to enhance them in various fields to serve common interests, exchanging views on various issues on the regional and international arenas, and the efforts made to solve them by peaceful means.”
Improve health relations
During recent exchanges, Pakistan and Oman also agreed to enhance social and health cooperation in order to meet the health challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic and expressed their interests to enhance medical and scientific cooperation.
Military cooperation agreement
The fresh interaction between Pakistan and Oman took place within a month of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of military cooperation. The agreement was signed by Pakistan Ambassador Ahsan Wagan and Secretary-General, Ministry of Defence of Oman, Mohamed bin Nasser Al-Raby at Defence Complex in Muscat. The MoU is aimed at enhancing defence cooperation through the exchange of knowledge and expertise in the field of military cooperation for mutual benefits. This agreement would also contribute towards further strengthening Pak-Oman bilateral diplomatic relations in general and military cooperation in particular.
On November 21, 2020, Omani Majlis Al-Shura Chairman Khalid bin Hilal Al Ma’awali received KK Ahsan Wagan, the ambassador of Pakistan to Oman, who congratulated him on the country’s 50th National Day. The ambassador also gave him a copy of a message of congratulations from Asad Qaiser, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, and also discussed ways to enhance parliamentary cooperation between the two brotherly countries.
Pakistan FM visit to Oman
In January this year, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi visited Oman to express condolences over the demise of the sultanate’s long-time ruler Qaboos bin Said Al-Said. He also expressed hopes to advance Pakistan-Oman ties. Later in May, FM Qureshi phoned his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah to discuss cooperation to tackle the pandemic.
