King Charles III received Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman at Windsor on Oct. 20, opening a state visit that Oman says is intended to deepen cooperation and investment with Britain.
Queen Camilla joined the reception. Earlier, Prince William, the Prince of Wales, met Haitham at the sultan’s London residence. The Omani Foreign Ministry said Charles and Haitham later rode by carriage to Windsor Castle and reviewed a guard of honor.
Britain’s Royal Household scheduled the state visit for Oct. 20-22. Haitham arrived in Britain on Oct. 19, according to Oman’s Foreign Ministry. The previous state visit by an Omani ruler was in March 1982, when Queen Elizabeth II hosted Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
Oman’s Foreign Ministry has identified economic cooperation and investment as goals of the trip. Haitham’s delegation includes Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham bin Tarik Al Said, deputy prime minister for economic affairs, and Anwar bin Hilal bin Hamdoun Al Jabri, minister of commerce, industry and investment promotion.
Muscat Stock Exchange CEO Haitham Al Salmi told The National that encouraging investment between Oman and Britain was a major aim of the visit.
Britain and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Oman, signed a joint statement May 20 marking the conclusion of trade negotiations. The British government said the proposed free trade treaty’s text still needed to be finalized and verified before the treaty could be signed. It has projected lower tariffs and better market access for some British exporters if the agreement takes effect.
Separately, FTSE Russell added Oman to a watch list Oct. 6 for a possible move from Frontier to Secondary Emerging market status. The index provider has announced no change to Oman’s classification.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Prime Minister Andy Burnham raised freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz during a July 30 call with Haitham. The National and ITV News reported that Burnham and Haitham were scheduled to meet Oct. 21.
