KUWAIT CITY, May 12 : The Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq and the accompanying delegation will arrive to the State of Kuwait, Monday, on a state visit where he would hold official round of talks with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Oman’s Ambassador to Kuwait Dr. Saleh Al-Kharousi said the visit of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq to Kuwait stressed the deep-rooted bonds and close collaboration between the wise leaderships of the two countries. Speaking to KUNA in a statement, Al-Kharousi added the visit would lead to positive results for the two countries’ peoples in all fields.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah’s visit to the Sultanate of Oman in February had key outcomes, as it was the first visit of His Highness the Amir to Oman since he came to office, the ambassador noted. His Highness the Amir’s visit came to materialize the strong desire and keenness between the two countries’ leaderships to support their relations based on deeprooted and commonality, he said. Al-Kharousi pointed to the directives of the two leaderships for high-level direct coordination between the two sides in multiple fields. He pointed out that a mechanism for direct bilateral relations has been set that includes high-profile meetings, as Sultan Haitham will pay his first visit to Kuwait. Relations between Oman and Kuwait are an international and regional model, and their cooperation is distinguished, he said, referring to common historic, social heritage, and clear political positions towards several international and regional issues. These ties are an extension of close relations between the two leaderships of the two countries led by Sultan Haitham and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the diplomat noted. He pointed to the mutual meetings between the two countries’ leaderships and officials that led to several achievements which serve the interest of Omanis and Kuwaitis.

Al-Kharousi said the Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company (DRPIC) in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm that Sultan Haitham patronized its opening ceremony on February 7 2024, in the presence of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah, is a great achievement of which both countries are proud. It is the largest combined joint investment project between the Omani OQ Group and the Kuwait Petroleum International Company, with a capital exceeding USD nine billion, he stated. Opening the project embodied the deep-seated ties between the two countries over many years, and culmination in this common heritage that was supported by the two sides, he made clear.

Opening the refinery was not the only achievement made during that visit, as it also witnessed the completion of two other projects: Marafiq Company, which supports the refinery in terms of energy and water, with an investment amounting to 196 million Omani riyals (about USD 510 million) and the Omani Tank Company project for oil storage in Ras Markaz with an investment of 200 million Omani riyals (about USD 520 million), he elaborated.

The ambassador stressed continued work between the two sides to ensure safe and profitable operation of the refinery to be a global platform for innovation and leadership in refining amid major challenges facing gas and oil industry. He indicated that the current cooperation, which translates the Kuwaiti- Omani partnership, mainly investment in petrochemical industries, materializes the current and future shared visions of the two sides and their aspirations for more cooperation aiming to consolidate close relations between the two brotherly countries and achieve their interests.(KUNA)