UPDATE - 'Turkey supports unity, prosperity, security of Gulf'

UPDATE WITH TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER’S MEETING WITH OMANI DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

By Serife Cetin, Zuhal Demirci, Mahmoud Barakat and Zehra Nur Duz

MUSCAT / ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's foreign minister reiterated on Wednesday that Ankara supports the unity, prosperity and security of the Gulf region.

"[...]We are ready to work closely with Oman and all other Gulf countries on issues regarding our region," Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint news conference with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood al-Busaidi, in Muscat.

Saying that the two countries will further improve political, economic and commercial relations despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Cavusoglu hailed Oman's neutral and independent foreign policy. "Oman is a voice of reason and wisdom in the region."

"Turkey is the strategic partner of the [Gulf Cooperation Council] GCC and we welcome the normalizations between the GCC countries and some other countries in the region. So Turkey is supporting the unity, prosperity and security of the Gulf region," he added.

Noting that the two top diplomats also discussed the latest developments in the region, including Syria, Libya, and Yemen, as well as bilateral ties, Cavusoglu stressed he is happy to see that Turkey and Oman have the same position over all these countries and are harbingers of peace and stability.

The Turkish foreign minister is on a three-day Gulf tour. He visited on Tuesday Kuwait where he met high-profile officials, including Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

On Thursday, the Turkish top diplomat is expected to arrive in the Qatari capital Doha on the third leg of the tour.

- 'Good, distinguished bilateral relations'

For his part, Oman's top diplomat Hamood al-Busaidi expressed his pleasure at welcoming Cavusoglu in Muscat.

"We held a positive and fruitful session of consultations regarding the good and distinguished bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to develop them toward wider and bigger horizons especially in economic, commercial, tourism and cultural fields," he said.

The Omani foreign minister noted that the talks also tackled local and regional issues.

He also stressed cooperation in efforts against the coronavirus pandemic.

The Turkish foreign minister also met with Omani Deputy Prime Minister for Council of Ministers Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al-Said.

In a Twitter post following the meeting, Cavusoglu said he is pleased with the increasing interest of Turkish companies in Oman and the support they receive there.

Underlining that Turkey will further advance its economic relations with Oman, Cavusoglu said: “We appreciate peace and dialogue efforts by Oman in the region”.

*Burak Bir in Ankara contributed to this report