Muscat – Under the directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, Sayyid Badr al Busaidi, Foreign Minister, headed the sultanate’s delegation at the 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Summit, which began at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday.

In a speech, Sayyid Badr conveyed the greetings of His Majesty the Sultan and his appreciation for the efforts made in organising the summit.

The Foreign Minister said that the summit was being held at a time of increasing importance of joint efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

“Oman is making tangible efforts towards achieving the sustainable development goals, as it has made technology, science and digital transformation an essential part of its national strategy and legislation.”

He noted that Oman hopes to submit its second voluntary national report in 2024, which will highlight its strong commitment to achieving the sustainable development goals and to continuing progress in social, economic, scientific, environmental and renewable energy fields.

Sayyid Badr added that Oman’s path towards achieving the goals, as set out in Oman Vision 2040, reflects the sultanate’s strong commitment to science, technology and innovation. “Oman is also supporting international cooperation to transfer knowledge and technology and to facilitate investment and job opportunities to ensure a safe and prosperous future for all.”

Gulf, UK meet

Oman chaired a joint ministerial meeting between the foreign ministers of the GCC member states and James Cleverly, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, on Monday.

At the meeting, which took place in New York on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Oman was represented by Sayyid Badr, Chairman of the current session of the Gulf Ministerial Council, with participation of Jasem Mohamed al Budaiwi, Secretary-General of GCC.

The meeting reviewed the strong relations between the GCC countries and the UK and discussed expanding areas of cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, renewable energy, education, sustainable development and transfer of scientific knowledge.

The ministers praised the ongoing progress in GCC-UK relations and agreed on working continuously to expand and diversify common interests in various fields. They also exchanged views on current international and regional issues and agreed on the importance of encouraging dialogue and respecting the rule of international law and the United Nations Charter in order to strengthen global peace and stability.

Gulf, Caribbean ties

Oman chaired a meeting of the foreign ministers of the GCC and the foreign ministers of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) on Monday.

At the meeting, the two groups signed a memorandum of cooperation and adopted a joint action plan between the GCC and the ACS, which identifies key goals and sets out mechanisms for political dialogue, facilitation of trade and promotion of investment and tourism cooperation.

The GCC and ACS foreign ministers agreed on their common desire to activate cooperation between the two groups, especially in the economic, commercial and tourism fields.

© Apex Press and Publishing Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).