London: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and Andy Burnham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK), held a bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street in London.
During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the course of bilateral relations between the Sultanate of Oman and the United Kingdom and the means of enhancing them in service of mutual interests.
UK Prime Minister delivered a speech of which text reads as follows: “Your Majesty, you are very welcome indeed to Downing Street for our first face-to-face meeting. I am extremely pleased to be with you on this historic occasion of the state visit of Oman.
"I so much enjoyed your speech and His Majesty the King's speech at Windsor Castle last night at the state banquet. What comes over is the extent of the historic ties between us. We are two of the oldest friends collaborating for centuries, and that is such a deep tradition for us to draw on.
"In the modern world as we look forward, we're cooperating on technology, on defense and security, but also on cultural collaboration. There are so many ties on so many levels. On trade, I think we are looking at a 1.7 billion pound trade relationship. I'm sure we would both think that we can build that out.
Hopefully, that will be one of the outcomes of this state visit of yours to the United Kingdom. Before handing over to you, I just wanted to say one further thing. Obviously, everyone can see how difficult the situation has been and is in the Middle East. And everyone can see the extent to which you, Your Majesty, your government, and the people of Oman are working to find solutions, build partnerships, and work to ensure the Strait of Hormuz is reopened to trade.
On this occasion of the state visit, I wanted to reiterate the UK's appreciation of this country to all of the efforts that you've done in what has been a really difficult situation. I want you to know that you can rely on our continued support and collaboration.”
His Majesty the Sultan delivered a speech, expressing his utmost thanks to the UK Prime Minister. The text of the speech reads as follows: “Thank you very much Prime Minister. I'm really delighted to be with you again in Downing Street. And I'm really very happy also to be on this beautiful state visit.
This visit we are undertaking in the context of relations with Britain. Our relations go back very deep. We have so many things that work perfectly between Oman and Britain.
Today, my presence here is to continue that relation. We have so many things that we started from a long time back. Together, we will have great success in the coming years.
As you have mentioned, the situation unfortunately right now is a bit rough, as it has been in the past probably two years. Oman has played a great role in whatever we have been able to attain and whatever we can have. I think we always hope that the situation will go back to normal, and we are working on it.
We have great relations with Britain; we interact all the time coordinating our moves and also help each other out. So I am very thankful again to be in this historical gathering.”
His Majesty the Sultan and the British Prime Minister then chaired an expanded session of talks. The two sides reviewed the fields of cooperation and the existing partnership between the two countries and the pathways for advancing and developing them across all sectors, in fulfilment of the two countries' aspirations for greater progress and prosperity.
The two sides also addressed developments in the regional and international arenas in light of current events and their repercussions for the security of the region, affirming the importance of intensifying coordination and uniting international efforts to contain crises and support endeavours aimed at establishing peace and reinforcing security and stability.
The session of talks was attended on the Omani side by the official delegation accompanying His Majesty the Sultan, while senior officials attended on the British side.
Following the conclusion of the session, His Majesty the Sultan inscribed a message in the visitors' book, in which he expressed his delight at this visit, wishing the relations between the two countries continued progress and growth in fulfilment of shared objectives.