Sisi to visit Muscat for first time on Sunday

CAIRO - 2 February 2018: On Sunday, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi will head to Muscat for the first time since he took the office, upon an invitation from Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said al-Said.

“The president will meet with Sultan Qaboos and number of top Omani officials, where they will tackle ways to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries at all levels,” the president’s spokesperson Bassam Radi stated on Sunday, adding that the three-day official visit will witness talks between the two leaders over the latest developments in the region.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi in Muscat on November 14, 2017, as part of a Gulf tour that included Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, he delivered a message from Sisi intended for Sultan Qaboos.

Sisi was set to visit Muscat in November 2017 but the trip was postponed for unknown reasons.

While Kuwait played a vital role in an attempt to solve the Arab crisis with Qatar that that erupted past summer, Oman preferred to stay a neutral player, where Sultan Qaboos kept silent throughout the crisis that still currently lasts.