Sultanate of Oman celebrates its National Day and highlights solid relations with Syria throughout history

On the 18th  of November, the Sultanate of Oman celebrates its 51st  National Day, and it maintains the constants of its foreign policy by giving priority to dialogue and commitment to the principle of respect for the sovereignty of countries and non-interference in their affairs. It continues the renaissance process launched by the late Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said in the year 1970 and continues by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said in completing the building of the modern state within the vision of (Oman 2040).

The Syrian-Omani relations are based on the principle of mutual respect and giving priority to the interests of the people of the two brotherly countries, and are reinforced by a common desire to strengthen the bonds of cooperation in various economic, commercial and cultural fields.

The most prominent historical stations that deepened the ties of the two countries were the visit of the founding leader Hafez al-Assad to the Sultanate in 1992, while the relations reached their climax after the visits of President Bashar al-Assad to Muscat in 2001 and 2009.

The continued exchange of official delegations affirmed the two countries’ keenness to strengthen relations and their common interest in restoring security and stability to the region and the success of the political solution path in Syria.

With the aim of strengthening cultural relations and exchanging bilateral experiences, the National Museum in Damascus hosted on the first of this month a variety of cultural events titled (Omani Day in Damascus), which was held in cooperation with the Omani National Museum. It included “Illuminations on Oman”, during which Omani artifacts were displayed, mostly belonging to the Magan civilization in the Bronze Age, the first civilization to appear in those countries in the third millennium BC. The exhibition lasts for six months.

The economic relations between the two countries witnessed a remarkable development, reflected in the mutual understanding in the revival of the Syrian-Omani Joint Committee and the signing of a number of agreements to expand the fields of economic and trade cooperation. Several agreements also documented the strong ties in the fields of industry, health, media and higher education with the continuation of scientific cooperation and exchange of students between universities in the two countries, in addition to the work of many Syrian university professors and judges in the Sultanate.

As part of its quest to preserve the developmental and civilizational achievements that the Sultanate has achieved within more than five decades, the (Oman 2040) vision, which was launched in 2013, came to focus on supporting economic growth, diversifying sources of income, achieving financial sustainability and social protection programs with rationalization and raising the efficiency of spending and establishing a high quality education and health system to ensure the continuity of construction for the benefit of successive generations.

Oman has defined the strategic directions of its vision according to primary objectives that include an effective national system for scientific research, creativity and innovation that contributes to building a knowledge economy and society and empowering national competencies with competitive capabilities and skills locally and globally. It also seeks to create an attractive environment for the labor market that allows the private sector to take the initiative to lead a competitive national economy integrated with the global economy.

Inas Abdulkareem