Pompeo arrives in Oman … as part of his Middle East tour
By Marwa Mahmoud
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Muscat with Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, at the end of his tour of the Middle East.
Pompeo wrote in a tweet on Twitter: “Today I met with Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said to discuss the importance of building peace, stability and prosperity through a unified Gulf Cooperation Council.”
Pompeo stressed his gratitude for “our strong security partnership and economic ties.”
For its part, the Oman News Agency said, “During the interview, aspects of the existing bilateral cooperation between the Sultanate and the United States were reviewed within the framework of the close relations that bind them and matters of mutual interest between the two sides.”
Pompeo is the first high-ranking Western official to meet Sultan Haitham, the successor of Sultan Qaboos, who died last January after assuming power over the sultanate for nearly 50 years.
The US Secretary of State had arrived, earlier Thursday, to his next stop on his Middle East tour, which is the Sultanate of Oman.
Upon his arrival to Muscat, Pompeo tweeted on his Twitter account, saying: “I arrived in the Sultanate of Oman and will meet Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.”
Pompeo’s tour of the region included Israel, Sudan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Pompeo visited the UAE, on Wednesday, as part of a Middle East tour that began Monday, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed his appreciation for the Emirati-Israeli agreement, which was announced on August 13.
Soon after arriving at the airport, he expressed his enthusiasm to visit the United Arab Emirates. He wrote in a tweet on his Twitter account: The UAE-Israel agreement is the most important step towards peace in the Middle East in more than 25 years.
He also expressed his hope to build on the momentum of the new agreement in order to reach regional peace.
