British minister starts Gulf tour

British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Derek Fatchett will arrive today at Muscat for a two-day visit, during which he will meet with Oman's Sultan Qaboos and Omani officials.

Sources in the British embassy in Cairo said that Fatchett will visit Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to discuss the outflow of Arab investments to Britain, sign many agreements for protecting capital and preventing tax duplicity, and discuss regional issues, especially the peace process between Palestine and Israel.

They will also discuss the international situations of different issues of common interest between Britain and the Gulf states.