ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hasmade the first visit to Oman by an Israeli premier in over 20 years,officials said Friday, in an apparent sign of growing regional ties.
The surprise meeting with Oman´s Sultan Qaboos late Thursday, which waskept secret until Netanyahu´s return home, comes despite the two nationshaving no diplomatic ties.
The trip is a major coup for Netanyahu, who has said he wants to bolsterties with the Arab world despite a stalemate on the Palestinian front.
“A special visit in Oman — we´re making history!” Netanyahu wrote onTwitter, posting a video of his reception and meeting.
Netanyahu and Sultan Qaboos discussed the Middle East peace process “andother issues of shared interest”, the Israeli premier´s office said in astatement.
Netanyahu was accompanied by his wife Sara and his delegation includedMossad intelligence chief Yossi Cohen and National Security Advisor MeirBen-Shabbat.
The visit came at the invitation of Sultan Qaboos and followed “lengthycontacts between the two countries”, the Israeli statement said.
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It formed part of “the policy outlined by Prime Minister Netanyahu ondeepening relations with the states of the region”, it said.
Oman´s state broadcaster showed Netanyahu and his delegation walkingalongside Sultan Qaboos — who is rarely seen in pictures anymore — andOmani officials in traditional garb.
In 1994, then-Israeli premier Yitzhak Rabin visited Oman, and acting primeminister Shimon Peres also made a visit in 1996 when the two countriesagreed to open trade representative offices.
In October 2000, Oman closed the offices after the outbreak of the secondPalestinian intifada.
Israel currently has full diplomatic relations with only two Arab states,Egypt and Jordan. – APP/AFP
