UK-Oman joint working group: Communique
The third meeting of the UK-Oman Joint Working Group took place at the Foreign Office in London on 3 April.
The meeting was hosted by Alistair Burt MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. The Omani delegation was led by His Excellency Sayyid Badr Hamed Al Busaidi Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The creation of the Joint Working Group (JWG) was announced in July 2010, by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and the Omani Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Yusuf Bin Alawi bin Abdullah. It was established to strengthen the historic friendship between the UK and Oman and further develop our strategic relationship.
On bilateral ties, Minister Burt and His Excellency Sayyid Badr stressed the importance of a deep and historic UK-Oman relationship and proposed to use the JWG to develop a range of activities for the benefit of both countries. and to strengthen the bilateral relationship further. They also enjoyed a full discussion on regional issues.
Minister Burt and His Excellency Sayyid Badr noted the progress on the key themes discussed at the November Joint Working Group: education, training, job creation and trade.
They also raised the prospect of further cooperation on legal capacity building and cooperation which aimed to create long-term benefits for both the UK and Oman.
Immediately after the Joint Working Group, government officials and leading experts from the UK and Oman met to strengthen the ties in the field of cultural & heritage cooperation.
Minister Burt and His Excellency Sayyid Badr agreed to hold the next Joint Working Group in Muscat in the autumn.