MUSCAT : His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of UAE concluded his two-day state visit to Oman and thanked His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik for the warm welcome and hospitality during his stay in the country.

“Thank you to my brother Sultan Haitham bin Tarik for the warm welcome to the Sultanate of Oman. Our two nations are united by deep bonds of history, friendship and common interest, and I look forward to working together to continue forging an even brighter future for our people,” Sheikh Mohamed said.

During his visit, Oman and UAE signed 16 agreements in various fields including a landmark $3 billion-deal to establish a joint railway company that connects the two countries. The joint company formed between Oman Rail and Etihad Rail, will operate a railway network linking Sohar and Abu Dhabi, which extends for a distance of 303 kilometers and will primarily link Sohar to Abu Dhabi. The passenger trains are designed to reduce travel time from Sohar to Abu Dhabi to 1 hour 40 minutes, and from Sohar to Al Ain to 47 minutes, travelling at a maximum speed of 200 km/h. Meanwhile, the freight trains will run up to 120 km/h.

The leaders of the two countries held in-depth discussions in a spirit of brotherhood and harmony. During the discussions, the two leaders reiterated their keen interest in strengthening cooperation in various spheres of common interest. They commended the existing coordination and cooperation in political, security, economic and cultural fields benefiting the two neighbouring countries.

The two leaders underscored the role played by the Supreme Joint Committee and welcomed the effective communication between their highnesses and ministers in the two countries to discuss common issues and joint action to enhance bilateral relations in economic, commercial, investment, cultural, diplomatic, consular and educational fields, as well as the areas of environment, food security, advanced technologies and innovation, energy projects, renewable energy, industry, health and pharmaceutical fields.

Bilateral cooperation also covers real estate development, tourism, petrochemicals, converting industries, supply chains, transportation, logistical partnership, information technology, financial technology, and everything that would enhance common benefits and interests and bring prosperity to the peoples of the two countries. 

His Majesty the Sultan and the President of the United Arab Emirates have affirmed their determination to stimulate the government and private sectors to work towards the elevation of joint efforts to develop and diversify commercial and investment exchanges, and to establish partnerships in various sectors and between business owners, with a view to realizing integration between the two brotherly countries.