Vice President meets with Oman’s State Council chairman

Jakarta-wapresri.go.id On the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Leaders’ Summit in 2017, Vice President Jusuf Kalla held a bilateral meeting with the Chairman of the State Council of Oman Yahya Mahfoodh Salim Al-Manthri at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) in Jakarta, Tuesday (Mar. 7).

Al-Manthri said, he brought many delegates, especially from the private sector, during his visit to Indonesia.

“We want to improve bilateral relations that have existed since the establishment of our diplomatic relations in 1978,” said Al-Manthri.

He added that currently there are Oman Air flights that serves Muscat-Jakarta flights seven times in a week.

On that occasion, Al-Manthri also told the Vice President the current situation in the Middle East.

“The conflicts in Yemen and Syria are still continuing,” he said.

However, Al-Manthri explained, since Sultan Qaboos of Oman was in power in 1970, tolerance and pluralism has grown very well in the country.

“The Islamic tradition of peace in Oman has even been existing since the 6th century,” he said.

In response, on behalf of the Indonesian government, the Vice President conveyed his gratitude to the government of Oman that facilitated the repatriation of the Indonesian citizens and the displacement of Indonesian Embassy in Sana’a (Yemen) to the city of Salalah (Oman) temporarily during the conflicts in Yemen.

“Cooperation is very important not only in the economic field, but also in the fields of defense and security,” said the Vice President.

The Vice President also appreciated the Government of Oman who are able to maintain security and peace in the country although the surrounding countries are caught in conflicts.

In the meeting, the Vice President also talked about the Indonesian government’s plan to establish the International Islamic University in Jakarta that will specifically develop the moderate thinking of Islam.

“We need to exchange ideas about moderate Islam from scholars around the world,” he said.

Al-Manthri welcomed the idea and promised to bring it to the Minister of Education of Oman.

Accompanying the Chairman of the State Council of Oman in the meeting were Oman’s Ambassador to Indonesia Sayyid Nizar Al Julanda Al Said, Director of Economic Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yahya Abdullah Al Auraimi, Head of the Council Bureau Zuwaid Yaqoob Al Hashmi, and First Secretary of the Embassy of Oman in Indonesia Hamid Abdullah Aideed.