Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began a tour of Gulf states on Monday evening with a visit to Oman, where his talks with Sultan Haitham are expected to focus on salvaging a nuclear pact between Iran and the West, resolving regional conflicts and increasing co-operation between their countries.
Sultan Haitham received Prince Mohammed at the Royal Airport, along with senior government officials and members of the royal family.
An Omani Foreign Ministry spokesman told The National that the talks between the two leaders would be “a follow-up of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarek’s visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and also the relations between the Gulf countries with Iran, particularly on Iran’s nuclear agreement with the West”.
Sultan Haitham met King Salman during his visit to Saudi Arabia in July, when the two countries agreed to establish a joint council on economic ventures including maritime, agriculture, industrial and logistics projects.
The Saudi Press Agency said Prince Mohammed would sign an agreement to establish the Omani-Saudi Co-ordination Council during his visit.
The council will “see to the sustainability and expansion of co-operation between the two countries, with great scope for more agreements and memorandums of understanding", Spa said.
Western diplomats in Oman said they expected the Saudi crown prince’s visit to be dominated by talks on resolving regional conflicts.
“The Saudis see Oman as a crucial link with Iran. Bin Salman needs Oman to convince the Iranians to get back to the negotiation table to salvage the nuclear pact. Also, the Saudis need Oman to tame the Houthis in Yemen to accept a peace treaty,” a western diplomat based in Muscat told The National.
“Oman stands to benefit from being a mediator for these two conflicts by winning important contracts from the Saudis to boost its ailing economy."
A government trade official said Saudi Arabia’s plans to establish an industrial zone in Oman would also feature in the discussions.
“Part of the talks will be on the Saudis developing an industrial zone at Duqm to transport goods between Oman and Saudi Arabia from this special economic zone,” the official told The National.
He did not give further details.
The Oman News Agency reported that leading Saudi Arabian and Omani companies on Monday signed several agreements before Prince Mohammed’s arrival, covering vital sectors such as petrochemicals, renewable energy, mining, tourism and maritime transport.
Omani energy company Okio Group agreed with Saudi Aramco and the privately-owned ACWA Power, which specialises in desalinated water production, to increase co-operation in renewable energy and hydrogen technology in power generation. Saudi Basic Industries Corporation signed an agreement to develop a petrochemicals project in Duqm, while the Muscat Stock Exchange and the Saudi Tadawul Group agreed to increase co-operation, the Omani state news agency said.
Oman and Saudi Arabia this year announced the construction of a motorway linking the two neighbours through the Empty Quarter desert region.
The motorway, more than 700 kilometres long, will start from Ibri, a town in south-west Oman, and end in Alkwifriah in Al Ahsa, eastern Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah Saud Al Anzi, the kingdom's ambassador to Muscat, said the motorway would be opened soon.
He said Prince Mohammed's visit reaffirmed the "deep historical ties" between the two nations and their expansion into "wider horizons of co-operation".
Oman has embarked on an ambitious economic development plan – Vision 2040 – to wean its economy off dependence on oil revenue and introduce medium-term measures to rein in its debt, which has grown in recent years.
Prince Mohammed’s tour will take in all five fellow members of the Gulf Co-operation Council – Oman, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait.
It will be his first visit to Qatar since the AlUla summit in January ended a rift in the GCC and re-established ties between Doha and Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.
Saudi Arabian state media reported that the tour would be focused on ways to enhance co-ordination between GCC states and measures to strengthen the work of the regional body, before the leaders’ summit in mid-December.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
The specs: 2019 Audi A8
Price From Dh390,000
Engine 3.0L V6 turbo
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy, combined 7.5L / 100km
Ireland v Denmark: The last two years
Denmark 1-1 Ireland
7/06/19, Euro 2020 qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
19/11/2018, Nations League
Ireland 0-0 Denmark
13/10/2018, Nations League
Ireland 1 Denmark 5
14/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
11/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
Key facilities
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India squad for fourth and fifth Tests
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari
Disability on screen
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Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
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Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
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The National selections
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On sale: from January 2022
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
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Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
MATCH INFO
Southampton 0
Manchester City 1 (Sterling 16')
Man of the match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
