Saudi Crown Prince Begins 5-Day Gulf Tour from Muscat

From Oman, Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud, the Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defense, starts on Monday an official Gulf tour for 5 days.

"Okaz" Newspaper reported from diplomatic sources that the Crown Prince will start his Gulf tour, "which is his first after the Gulf Summit was held in Al-'Ula (Western Saudi Arabia) last January by visiting Oman, then Bahrain, the Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait.

The sources mentioned that the tour's agenda includes "discussing the Iranian nuclear and missile file with all its components and repercussions, in a way that contributes to achieving regional and international security and stability."

The sources indicated that the Saudi Crown Prince's tour emphasizes "the principles of good neighborliness, respect for UN resolutions and international legitimacy, and sparing the region from all destabilizing activities.

Moreover, he hopes to find a comprehensive political solution to the Yemeni crisis; based on the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism, the outcomes of the comprehensive Yemeni National Dialogue Conference and the International Security Council resolution No. 2216.

According to the Saudi Arabia newspaper, "during the tour, confirmation will be placed on the importance of alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni people, developments in the Iraqi arena in light of the results of recent parliamentary elections, the situation in Syria and Libya, updates of the Palestinian case, and raising the pace of cooperation, including security, defense, economy, trade, investment, and energy and communications among the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Besides, the sources did not rule out that this "tour would result in the signing of agreements and memoranda of understanding in various fields, especially those related to sectors of economy, trade and investment."

The Saudi Crown Prince's Gulf Tour precedes "the 42nd Gulf Summit scheduled in Riyadh on Dec 14. The tour will reaffirm the need for any negotiation process with Iran to include addressing Tehran's destabilizing behavior in the region, in addition to examining the steps that have been taken in terms of strengthening security and military cooperation between the GCC countries.

The Royal Court in Oman has announced earlier that Prince Mohammad Bin Salman's official visit to Muscat "comes out of the long-standing historical relations linking Oman and Saudi Arabia, and to strengthen the bonds of affection that unite the people of the two countries, and to complement the outcome of the meeting of Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz during his visit to KSA last July.

The Omani states that the Saudi Crown Prince "during the visit, will discuss a number of areas and aspects of common interest to serve the interests of the two countries. He also wants to achieve the aspirations and hopes of the two peoples for a more prosperous future."

Okaz Newspaper reported from the sources on which was based that "during the visit to Oman, a set of joint initiatives will be launched that cover major areas of cooperation. The major areas include investments in the project to establish an industrial zone in the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (SEZAD) and also partnership in the field of energy. They also include food security and cooperation in various cultural, sports and tourism activities," in addition to the fact that the visit is expected to witness "the opening of the first direct land border crossing between the two countries with 800km length, which is the Empty Quarter.

The Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al saud, had anticipated the Crown Prince's visit by sending written messages to a number of Gulf leaders on Sunday, transmitted by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan.

Contributed by Israa Farhan