Sultan Qaboos concludes visit to Saudi Arabia

Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman on Thursday concluded an official visit to Saudi Arabia following his visit to Egypt. His tour is also expected to include other Gulf states.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Sultan Qaboos held two rounds of talks. The first round of talks was with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, the defense minister and other high-ranking Saudi officials. Talks during these meetings dealt with developments in the Gulf region, the Middle East, and the Arab states.

The second round of talks was limited to the meeting between Sultan Qaboos and Crown Prince Abdullah.

The Saudi Press Agency said the plenary talks focused on "fraternal relations between the two sisterly countries and means of strengthening them in the service of the joint march of the Gulf region."

The Saudi agency indicated that the "two sides discussed developments concerning the Middle East and means of achieving Israel's withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories." They also dealt with the recent Palestinian - Israeli agreement.

Omani Minister of Information Abd al-Aziz bin Muhammad al-Ruwas said, replying to a question asked by the London-based al-Hayat daily on rumors of "a certain Omani viewpoint toward the annual meetings of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council states and the relations between the two countries, saying, "Omani - Saudi relations are excellent."

He added that issues of the Gulf region and the Arab states as well as bilateral relations were reviewed. He continued that views were exchanged on issues of mutual concern.