TEHRAN, May 14 (MNA) – In a meeting with the Minister of Finance of Oman in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, the Iranian economy minister called for the formation of joint committees to accelerate the implementation of investment and customs agreements.

Ehsan Khandouzi, the Iranian minister of economic and financial affairs held a meeting with Sultan bin Salem bin Saeed al-Habsi, the Minister of Finance of Oman on the sidelines of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group’s Annual Meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Referring to the recent visit of the President of Iran to Oman, Khandouzi considered the relations between Iran and Oman as important and announced Iran's full preparedness to welcome the Sultan of Oman in Tehran.

He also considered the relations between Iran and Oman to be beyond official relations and called them brotherly.

The Iranian minister also pointed out to the recent visit of the Minister of Industry of Oman to Tehran and assessed the meeting with him as positive.

He also considered the meeting of the attendees on the sidelines of the meeting of the Islamic Development Bank as an opportunity for the two countries to start finalizing joint investment and customs agreements.

"Iran has made the necessary preparations to finalize the agreements between the two countries, the basic matters of which have been completed. The upcoming visit of the Sultan of Oman to Iran is also a good opportunity to sign these agreements", Khandouzi announced. 

Pointing to the pragmatic approach of Iran's president, the Iranian minister asked his Omani counterpart to form agile and centralized joint committees in order to speed up the implementation of the investment and customs agreements of the two countries.

Sultan Al-Hasabi, for his part, considered the relations between the two countries to be continuous and a balancing factor in the region, and attributed the visits of Iranian investors and businessmen to Oman to the clear outlook created after the visit of the President of Iran to Oman.

The Omani minister also stated that the goals of the recent joint meetings between the ministers of transport, commerce and trade of the two countries have been achieved, and announced that the visit of the Sultan of Oman to Iran is imminent and that the investment and energy ministers of Oman will accompany him on this trip.

Oman's finance minister, like his Iranian counterpart, demanded to speed up the finalization and signing of joint investment and customs agreements between the two countries.

Referring to the records of his cooperation as the head of the Central Bank of Oman with his Iranian counterpart, Al-Hasabi called for the implementation of existing agreements with Iran.

Referring to areas of joint cooperation such as oil and gas fields, Al-Hasabi emphasized, "It is necessary for the two countries to exchange experiences in the field of investment."

Stressing the development and strengthening of the economic and commercial interactions between the two countries, the Omani minister said, "It is necessary to encourage the businessmen of the two countries to exchange goods produced in Iran and Oman."

In the same meeting, Ali Fakhri, the head of Iran's Investment and Economic and Technical Assistance Organization, was introduced by the economy minister as the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to finalize the investment agreement with the Omani side.

SKH/5779932