By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Diplomatic World newspaper highlighted the foundations of the Sultanate of Oman’s foreign policy, its model of peaceful coexistence and harmony, the national tourism strategy, the unique components of tourism, the aspects of development of the Omani media, the preservation of cultural values, the strength of the Omani economy, and competitiveness with the diversity of promising investment opportunities.
Barbara Dietrich, CEO of the Diplomatic World newspaper, conducted interviews with a number of Omani ministers, and said in an opening speech that many countries are working tirelessly for peace. After her visit to the Sultanate of Oman, she expressed her admiration for the model of peaceful coexistence and harmony that “inspired” her, as she described it.
She described the Sultanate of Oman as “a discreet architect of peace in the Middle East” and is famous for its mediation diplomacy, adding that balancing interests, tolerance towards differences, and a determined search for mutual benefits constitute some of the basic building blocks of the Sultanate of Oman’s practical foreign policy.
Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, the Omani Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with the Al-Alam Al-Diplomatic newspaper: “The principle of the Sultanate of Oman’s management of its international relations is focused on a very specific goal, which is to listen to and understand the interests of others, express our views and opinions, and speak about the truth as we see it.” “.
He added: “Omani foreign policy highly values the principles of mutual trust, transparency and maintaining credibility at all times, and does not adopt a hidden agenda or practice tricks… We are very honest in what we believe in, and we speak with our friends frankly, even if we disagree with each other, no We can be hypocrites.”
He explained that the foreign policy of the Sultanate of Oman is based on constructive neutrality and non-interference in the affairs of others, and it does not accept interference by others in its internal affairs, pointing out that “pragmatic” realism, openness and good neighborliness constitute important principles within the framework of Omani foreign policy, which always encourages the importance of Dialogue includes all disputing parties without marginalizing any party or preferring any party over another.
He pointed out that the Sultanate of Oman encouraged rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, noting the Omani efforts to release detainees in Yemen or Iran, as well as diplomatic efforts aimed at reversing Syria’s situation in the Arab world.
Regarding Gaza, he pointed to the growing global division over the Israeli attack on Gaza, stressing that the global consensus we are currently witnessing is in favor of achieving justice for the Palestinian people.
In this regard, Al-Busaidi said: “We are witnessing countries that see the behavior of Israel and its supporters as not only hypocritical, or disproportionate, but also genocidal, and I believe that strategies that involve escalating conflicts, or silencing those who disagree with us, do not lead to Simply for peace.”
He pointed out that the only way through which extremism can be combated is to stop the endless cycle of violence, and try to understand points of view and share our own ideas on the basis of inclusiveness and equality, even if the divisions sometimes seem very wide, or difficult to overcome, and in this way we can We chart a meaningful path to peace.
He said: “I believe that history teaches us many lessons that we must take into account. Specifically, it is possible to negotiate with those with whom we disagree, or even with armed national liberation movements, such as Hamas, and we have seen in history how that happened with the Hezbollah Party.” The African National Congress in South Africa, or the Irish Republican Army in Ireland, and even in the 1990s after the invasion of Kuwait, we saw negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization, and why not with Hamas today?”
He stressed that the Sultanate of Oman calls for renewing the peace process, through which the violent and illegal Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem ends.
He stressed that ending the illegal occupation, finding a two-state solution, and listening to the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people and their legitimate cause is the way to achieve sustainable, long-term and just peace and security for all residents of the entire region.
Turning to the economic vision of the Sultanate of Oman, he pointed out that it resembles foreign policy in that it is characterized by realism and openness to the outside world, and the primary goal of this economic vision is to move from a country whose prosperity is closely linked to hydrocarbons to a country that enjoys a diversified economic portfolio.
