MUSCAT: His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, is due to start a visit to the Sultanate of Oman on Tuesday for summit talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tareq and to sponsor the inauguration of the mega venture, the Al-Duqm refinery and petrochemical complex. The scheduled official ceremony at the site symbolizes the substantial outcome of the two GCC countries’ partnership and economic and strategic cooperation, spanning three decades.

The mega project, the cornerstone of which had been placed by Kuwait and Oman, would set the stage for significant development in the Al-Duqm region, forecast to turn into a key regional energy hub with feasible affiliate industries. Occupying a 900-hectare plot of coastal land, the $8.5 billion complex is a joint venture for the Omani International Energy Integrated Company (OQ) and Kuwait Petroleum International (Q8). Its preliminary refining capacity is estimated at 230,000 barrels of Kuwaiti crude oil per day.

The products include diesel, aviation fuel, naphtha, and liquefied petroleum gas. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation will secure 65 percent of the refinery’s crude oil resources. Kuwait-Omani relations have developed substantially since three decades ago, and the two countries have signed cooperation agreements at the political, economic, cultural, tourist, and artistic levels. The genuineness of these close and warm relations was visible in 1990, when Oman sided with Kuwait in the face of the flagrant Iraqi aggression.

Upon orders by the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the sultanate hosted a large number of Kuwaiti citizens during the occupation. In gratitude for the support, the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah visited the sultanate on September 18, 1991, and met Sultan Qaboos. On December 28, 2009, the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah decorated Sultan Qaboos with the Order of Mubarak the Great during the latter’s visit to Kuwait, and the sultan granted the Amir the Order of Oman.

In 2003, the two countries formed a joint committee to tackle economic, commercial, and tourist issues of common concern. It had held nine meetings, the latest of which convened in Muscat in March. The meeting was marked by five memoranda of understanding in diplomatic training, higher education, competition protection, prohibiting monopolization, environment protection, and industrial exports. Kuwait and Oman had worked out 17 accords between 1974 and 2017. Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development had executed 23 projects in Oman, and Kuwait’s investments in the Oman Fund for Fixed Income reached some KD 3 million ($26.4 million), while the volume of the trade exchanges amounted to KD 105 million ($346.5 million).

His Highness the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in a meeting with Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman.

His Highness the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and is received by Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Strength of ties

The state visit of His Highness the Amir reflects the strength of ties between the two nations, said Kuwaiti Ambassador to Oman Dr. Mohammad Al-Hajri on Monday. Speaking to KUNA, Ambassador Al-Hajri lauded the historic relations linking the two countries, saying that the Kuwaiti and Oman people were looking forward to boosting ties on all possible domains.

The two countries also shared a similar vision and goals in relation to matters concerning Arab policies and happenings around the world, added the ambassador, indicating that the upcoming visit would push to solidify coordination on matters of ties in addition to regional and international developments. His Highness the Amir is expected to meet with Sultan Haitham bin Tareq during a state visit. The two leaders would be patronizing the opening of the Al-Dqum refinery and petrochemical complex, a project showcasing the Kuwaiti-Omani strategic and economic partnership. — KUNA