Pompeo Discusses Need for GCC Unity with Oman's Sultan in Muscat Meeting - State Dept

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th August, 2020) US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said discussed the need for unity within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a readout of their meeting in Muscat on Thursday.

"The Secretary thanked the Sultan for Oman's role in advancing peace and stability in the Gulf and the two discussed the importance of a united Gulf Cooperation Council to advance prosperity in the region," Ortagus said. "They also discussed their shared commitment to bolstering the US-Oman bilateral economic partnership."

Pompeo arrived in Oman earlier on Thursday to discuss peace and security in the middle East with the sultan and other senior officials.

The sultanate in the Gulf is the US secretary's fifth stop on his Middle East tour after paying working visits to Israel, Sudan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to promote the historic US-brokered peace deal between the Jewish state and the UAE.

Last week, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had brokered a peace deal that will see Israel and the UAE fully normalize relations and establish diplomatic ties. In addition, Israel will suspend its West Bank annexation plans.

The UAE-Israel agreement to normalize bilateral relations was brokered by the US and announced in principle on August 13. If concluded, it will make the UAE the third Arab country to have a full peace deal with Israel after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.