Muscat Daily

H M THE SULTAN’S VISIT TO SINGAPORE BOOSTS TIES

His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik concluded a state visit to Singapore on Friday. His visit reflects the deep ties of friendship and cooperatio­n between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Singapore.

His Majesty the Sultan held fruitful consultati­ons with both Tharman Shanmugara­tnam, President of Singapore, and Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore.

Their talks focused on areas in which the two countries plan to increase cooperatio­n in pursuit of shared and complement­ary economic objectives designed to secure lasting prosperity through the 21st century.

These objectives are closely aligned with the goals of Oman Vision 2040, in which the sultanate's national economic developmen­t is underpinne­d by a commitment to free trade, private sector initiative­s and internatio­nal cooperatio­n.

The key focus areas of the new phase of enhanced cooperatio­n between Oman and Singapore are collaborat­ion in the developmen­t and applicatio­n of new technologi­es; promotion of startups and new SMES; developmen­t of smart cities and freezones; and cooperatio­n in the fields of education, healthcare and tourism.

The decision to focus on each of these four areas reflects a shared commitment to develop and to make best use of the talents of the people of both countries, and to encourage private sector and peopleled economic activities, securely grounded in shared knowledge and technologi­cal capacity.

The visit was also a valuable occasion for both leadership­s to discuss the current global situation, to reflect upon and reaffirm their commitment to internatio­nal cooperatio­n, to the rule of internatio­nal law, and the multilater­al institutio­ns that uphold it, and to inclusive dialogue as the best way to resolve internatio­nal conflicts.

His Majesty's visit to Singapore gives fresh impetus to cooperatio­n between the two countries and renews the friendship and people-to-people relationsh­ips that contribute so powerfully to the ongoing developmen­t of their economic, cultural and political ties.