The agreement was signed by HE Yousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, Oman’s Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the GCC Ministers’ Council, and Alejandro Hamed Franco, Foreign Affairs Minister of Paraguay and Chairman of Mercosur Foreign Minister’s Council.
HE Abdurrahman Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, the GCC secretary-general, was present on the occasion.
Also on Tuesday, HH Sayyid Fahd Bin Mahmoud Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers, returned home after heading the Sultanate’s delegation on behalf of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said at the 21st Arab Summit and Arab and South American Countries Summit which were held in Doha.
In Doha, the two sides welcomed the convening of the second Arab-Latin American summit under the chairmanship of Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, and expressed confidence that the summit will contribute positively towards strengthening cooperation between the GCC and Mercosur.
Both sides said economic cooperation between the two groups will not only enhance trade and investment opportunities but also reflect positively on the relations between Arabian and Latin American countries.
They expressed satisfaction over the rapid growth of trade exchange, mutual investment and business partnerships among the private sector companies since the signing of the economic cooperation agreement in 2005.
Fahd sent a cable of thanks to the emir of Qatar expressing his and the accompanying delegation’s thanks for the hospitality he received in Qatar. He also thanked the sisterly state of Qatar, its leadership, government and people for the warm welcome and good management of the summit’s deliberations.
He commended the decisions taken at the summit which highlighted the keenness to consolidate solidarity and make the joint Arab work successful.
He underlined the existing deep-rooted brotherly relations between the two countries, thanks to the wise leadership of both countries.
He was greeted on his return by HE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Salmi, Endowment and Religious Affairs Minister; HE Sheikh Salim Bin Hilal Al Khalili, Minister of Agricultrue; HE Hamed Bin Mohammed Al Rashdi, Minister of Information; HE Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al Harthy, Minister of Civil Service; HE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Salim Al Rowas, Minister of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources; HE Eng. Ali Bin Masoud Al Sunaidi, Minister of Sports Affairs; and HE Sayyid Khalid Bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers.
Fahd was accompanied to the Arab Summit by an official delegation comprising HE Yousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs; HE Dr Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas; Her Excellency Dr Sharifa Bint Khalfan Al Yahya’eiyah, Minister of Social Development; HE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Bakri, Minister of ManPower; and government officials.
Earlier in the day in Doha, Fahd received Colombian Vice-President Francico Santos at Sheraton Doha Hotel.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the bilateral relations, issues of mutual concern and reviewed the issues which were to be discussed by the summit of Arab-Latin American countries.
The meeting was attended from the Omani side by members of the delegation accompanying Fahd and from the Columbian side by Clemenca Ferrero, Deputy Foreign Minister; Ulga Paula, Director of Asia and African Affairs at the Colombian Foreign Ministry; and Khawlah Hussain, the charge d’affaires of the Columbian embassy in Cairo.
Fahd also received President of Comoros Ahmed Abdullah Sambi.
The two sides discussed the bilateral relations, means of boosting them in different fields and reviewed regional and international issues.
They covered the issues regarding the Arab people that were discussed during the meetings of the 21st Arab Summit. The meeting was attended by members of the accompanying delegations.
At the summit, Arab leaders united firmly behind Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir against his international arrest warrant over Darfur.
The heads of states who wound up their annual summit late on Monday also warned that an Arab peace offer was not open-ended, while Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad called for ‘suspending’ the offer until Israel engages fully.
At the summit of Arab and Latin American countries, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that international prosecutors should indict former US president George W. Bush for crimes in Iraq rather than the Sudanese president.
“The recent indictment against the Sudanese president is one of these ridiculous cases. It’s a farce,” Chavez said.
Chavez made the comments in a speech that attacked Israel over its attack on the Palestinian territory of Gaza in January and tried to ridicule Israel’s argument that its military offensives against Palestinians are in self-defence.
He praised Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and Gaddafi, among the Arab leaders who stayed behind after Monday’s Arab summit to attend the second meeting of Arab and Latin American leaders.
