The Sultan of Oman has held a high-level meeting with Boris Johnson to discuss security and trade ties.
Sultan Haitham was welcomed by the British prime minister with a red carpet rolled out at Downing Street.
The ruler of Oman is understood to have held several hours of discussion on the Gulf state's growing security ties with Britain.
The UK is also significantly expanding its number of armed forces in southern Oman, including using a number of tanks for training. It is also increasingly using the port of Duqm for warships and amphibious exercises.
Both countries have enduring links formed during the rule of Sultan Qaboos, who died last year.
As part of his vision for Global Britain, Mr Johnson is keen to expand trade links with the region.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister welcomed the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, to Downing Street today for discussions aimed at enhancing our bilateral relationship.
“He welcomed the long-standing ties between the United Kingdom and Oman and looked forward to revitalising our partnership and deepening cooperation across trade, investment and defence.
“The leaders noted the ongoing challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and discussed efforts to boost our economic recovery, such as a new UK-Gulf Cooperation Council free trade agreement. They highlighted the investment opportunities in green and renewable technology in the UK and Oman, including in wind power and hydrogen.
“On regional security issues, the leaders discussed the continuing crisis in Yemen and the talks in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal. They agreed to further strengthen our defence and security cooperation, recognising the strategic importance of the Duqm base in Oman for the UK.
“The Prime Minister and Sultan Haitham committed to continue working closely together, looking ahead to a potential UK-GCC summit in 2022.”
Next Monday, Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, will meet GCC leaders in England to further cement trade and security ties.
On Wednesday, the sultan met Queen Elizabeth II in Windsor Castle, one of the few official audiences the 95-year-old monarch has had in recent months as she recovers from ill health.
The Omani ruler was joined by his wife, Sayyida Ahad bint Abdullah, for the meeting.
The queen's meeting with the sultan is a demonstration of the importance the UK places on its relationship with the Gulf state.
A former culture and heritage minister and educated at University of Oxford, Sultan Haitham has previously hosted Prince Charles on his official visit to Oman.
Since coming to power, the Oman ruler has conducted a diplomatic offensive to boost Oman's profile and trade links with the rest of the world.
In July, Sultan Haitham met King Salman of Saudi Arabia for his first official visit since he became the ruler. The two countries agreed to establish maritime, agricultural, industrial and logistics projects.
Oman’s Vision 2040, which was drawn up under the rule of the late Sultan Qaboos, aims to advance several
sectors of the economy.
As part of the ambitious plans, Oman expects to earn more than nine billion rials ($22.5 billion) a year from tourism by 2040 as it attempts to diversify its economy away from oil.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
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Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
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Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
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India squad for fourth and fifth Tests
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari
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Boyd Tonkin, Galileo Press
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
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South Africa squad
Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
