The East is a delicate matter? Why Lukashenko is a frequent guest in the Middle East and why Belarus is respected there

Topic news Today, many countries are trying to make friends or even subjugate the countries of the Middle East. The reasons, unfortunately, are not very original: being together against someone is more reliable, more profitable and safer. But what if you are friends not against someone? Is it possible to lay the well-being of your countries and peoples in the foundation of relations? Alexander Lukashenko's visit to Oman showed that this is the principle that the truly powerful adhere to. In the new episode of the BELTA YouTube project "In Fact: Decisions of the First" we will tell you why Belarus is strengthening its positions in the Middle East and what really unites MINSK and Muscat, why Alexander Lukashenko's talks with the Sultan of Oman were closed and what agreements were reached behind closed doors, what the Belarusian President wrote about in an article for an Omani newspaper and what surprise awaited him at the National Museum of this country.

When Belarus began to develop relations with Oman
Belarus has long-standing ties with Oman: diplomatic relations between our countries were established more than 30 years ago, and 17 years have passed since the first visit of ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO to Muscat.
But if back then the countries were faced with the task of creating a solid regulatory framework for the development of trade and economic relations, today Belarus and Oman are already developing a strategy and tactics for bilateral cooperation.

Minsk considers Muscat as one of the promising trade and investment partners in the Gulf region. This was facilitated by the intensification of official contacts at the governmental and parliamentary levels over the past two years. Belarus is ready to develop relations with Oman in all areas. Moreover, relations between the states are characterized by a high level of trust and sincere friendship.

In 2016, at a meeting with representatives of Oman's business community, Alexander Lukashenko noted that the potential for economic cooperation with this country is enormous and will be in demand.

"Belarus has achieved significant success in the field of mechanical engineering and is ready to both supply equipment to Oman and create joint ventures on its territory. There are good prospects for the development of investment cooperation. Belarus has created the most favorable conditions for doing business: the protection of private property and investments is guaranteed, the right to repatriate profits is ensured. We do not create any obstacles to the implementation of any mutually beneficial joint projects," the HEAD of state said at the time.

Chairman of the Standing Committee on International Affairs of the House of Representatives Sergei Rachkov, formerly the Ambassador of Belarus to Egypt and concurrently to Oman, noted that the basis of Belarusian-Omani relations are, first of all, very friendly ties between the country's leadership.

"The country is very interesting, beautiful, with very nice people. Therefore, the prospects have always been and remain. We have already done some things, but there is still more to do," the parliamentarian said.
What is Oman famous
for? What is this country? At first glance, Oman does not stand out from other countries in the region: a monarchy in the form of a sultanate, the majority of the population are Arabs, the state religion is Islam. Oman has oil and gas reserves. The country also has deposits of copper and iron ore, chromium, coal, manganese, lead, gold and silver.

Oman is also the main supplier of incense on the world market. Aromatic resin has been traded here for thousands of years. Incense was one of the most important goods in the ancient and medieval world. One of the territories in the country is called the Land of Incense.

But the Omanis have their own distinctive feature - they are a tolerant and peace-loving nation that strives to build good relations with their neighbors and other countries in the region. Which, however, sometimes causes misunderstandings among other Arab states. And one more important nuance. Despite the fact that today the overwhelming majority of Omani exports areoil , oil products and gas, the reserves of these minerals in the country are limited. Therefore, Oman is striving to seriously diversify and modernize its economy. The political elites here understand that, as they say, oil is not the only thing.
The history of the lands of Oman was not easy, there were long periods under the rule of Western countries. In modern history, the real heyday of the state occurred in the last five decades with the coming to power of the previous Sultan Qaboos bin Said. It was with him that the Belarusian President held talks during his first visit in 2007. The Sultan, who ruled Oman for almost 50 years, died in January 2020. Alexander Lukashenko in his condolences then emphasized that Qaboos bin Said did a lot for the formation of Oman and the development of relations with other states, including Belarus.

"The wisdom of this statesman will always be an example for politicians around the world," the Belarusian leader said.

How Lukashenko was greeted in Oman
The current presidential visit, in fact, crowned the active work of the Belarusian side in Oman throughout the year. Before that, there were political consultations, a business forum, a visit of a high-level delegation headed by the Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, who oversees cooperation with this country. And in October, Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko was received in Muscat. All this, as we can now understand, were preparatory stages for the visit at the highest level in order to consolidate the agreements already reached and outline the contours of cooperation for the future.

Despite the fact that the visit of the head of state to Oman was of a working nature, the entire ceremony almost completely corresponded to the status of an official or even state visit. All these and other nuances are a sign of special respect from the host side.
"Following the main day of negotiations, several front pages of one of the country's main newspapers were devoted to the visit of the Belarusian President. And the frequency of personal contacts between the leaders speaks of great mutual interest. During the visit, they met several times. First, as Alexander Lukashenko told journalists, they discussed strategic directions, and then specific programs and projects. But there are some nuances. For example, negotiations here are usually conducted in a semi-closed format. The press is allowed in for literally a couple of minutes to film protocol footage. This is a common feature not only for Oman, but also for other countries in the region. On the one hand, money loves silence, and, of course, they discuss trade and economic cooperation. On the other hand, it is better not to bring some topics into the public space," our correspondent Vladimir Matveyev shared his observations.

What is known about Lukashenko's negotiations with the Sultan of Oman
Nevertheless, the Belarusian ministers who left the hall for negotiations in an expanded format did not hide their optimism. Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov said that they felt the readiness of their Omani colleagues to build long-term relations. According to him, Belarus views Oman as a state that has always had key positions in trade and development of relations throughout the region throughout its thousand-year history.
"This includes all of East Africa, relations with neighboring Yemen and India. Therefore, today we are counting on Oman's support not only in developing simple trade and economic relations between the two countries, but also in using Oman's capabilities to promote our products in other markets. And there are prerequisites for this. This is exactly what the leaders of our countries spoke about," Maxim Ryzhenkov said.

Industry Minister Alexander Efimov, in turn, noted that trade turnover between Belarus and Oman is still very low. At the same time, the Omani side is interested in Belarusian passenger, cargo, road construction, municipal and agricultural equipment.

The negotiations between the leaders of Belarus and Oman did not end there. In the evening, they exchanged gifts and continued their conversation. Alexander Lukashenko presented Haitham bin Tarek Al Said with a Slutsk belt and a Shpagin submachine gun. Long, wide belts with a beautiful pattern and complex weaving of precious threads became widespread in Belarusian lands back in the 16th century. Such a belt was considered a sign of noble origin, and its presence also indicated the wealth of the owner.
As for the legendary Shpagin submachine gun, this weapon played a role in the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders and, in general, in bringing Victory closer in the Great Patriotic War.
In turn, the Sultan presented the Belarusian leader with a traditional Omani dagger, Khanjar. This curved dagger is an obligatory item of the traditional costume of the Arabs of Oman, a national symbol of the country. And one more interesting detail: Alexander Lukashenko presented the Sultan with a coin in return - there is a tradition when you accept a cold weapon as a gift. As it turned out, this tradition is well known in the East.

Why Lukashenko wrote an article in an Omani newspaper
The proposals of the Belarusian side were described in detail in an article by Alexander Lukashenko, which was published during his visit to Oman. This is also an unusual and very far-sighted step. Although our countries are similar, not much is known about Belarus in Oman.

The head of state noted that the countries do not have deep disagreements. On the contrary, Belarus and Oman have similar opinions on many pressing issues on the global agenda. And the peoples of the two countries are close in mentality, although they are separated by thousands of kilometers.

"But it is not surprising that our views on life and worldview are very similar. Time did not spare our ancestors, who by the will of fate found themselves on the paths of human settlement in Eurasia and Africa, the crossroads of trade routes and the intersection of civilizations," the President emphasized.

What the Sultan of Oman proposed to Belarus
During his visit to Oman, Alexander Lukashenko managed to talk to Belarusian journalists and tell a little about the agreements reached. According to him, the parties decided to create an intergovernmental commission and develop a bilateral cooperation map.

"The Sultan proposed strategic areas of cooperation. It is very important for us to determine the point. The port, maybe we will look at something else. And from there our technologies, which are needed in Oman, came. Therefore, we will create joint ventures here using Belarusian technologies and will move to the west, to the east, north from here from the Indian Ocean, selling their goods. The Sultan made a very good proposal - to create a hub here - a center for Belarusian goods. And yesterday I honestly told him that we have learned to produce a lot of things. Trade - not so much yet. But they have been able to trade since ancient times. And in this regard, they promised to help us. In short, there were no closed topics at all," the President said.
We are talking about re-export. Simply put, Belarus will supply its goods to Oman, and local businesses , of course, having their own interests and taking on certain risks, will sell these goods further. As a result, there is a benefit for both parties. The next step is the creation of joint production, which Oman is also interested in, as it wants to reduce the economy's dependence on the oil and gas sector. For example, in the food industry. The possibility of joint production of vaccines for livestock needs was also mentioned.

Where is Oman's "true pearl" located?
"And here is an important difference between Belarus, thanks to which we are valued and are ready to work with us: we are not mouse-hunting and are not trying to extract some immediate benefit. We intend to cooperate for the long term, including sharing technologies," our colleague Vladimir Matveyev explained. "After all, we remember how large Western partners behaved during the pandemic: they simply closed down, did not supply anything, not even medicines and food products . Therefore, Oman is interested in strengthening its technological sovereignty and resolving food security issues. And Belarus, like no one else, is ready to lend a shoulder in this."

Alexander Lukashenko also got acquainted with the logistics and production capabilities of Oman in person. The President visited the Sohar port and the free economic zone of the same name. These facilities are of great importance in the plans for the development of trade and economic cooperation. The Omani port handles more than 1 million tons of sea cargo per week and about 3.5 thousand ships per year. And the Sohar FEZ has attracted investments worth more than $26 billion since its establishment in 2010 and has become one of the most dynamic and successful industrial zones in the Gulf region.

Alexander Lukashenko expects that the port and the Sohar FEZ will become a reliable launching pad for cooperation between Belarus and Oman. "These facilities are true pearls of Oman, the Northern Al Batinah Governorate and the new North-South route," the head of state noted. What brings Belarus and Oman closer
You may think that Belarus is some distant and little-known country for Oman. But Alexander Lukashenko's visit to the National Museum of Oman showed otherwise. It turned out that the head of the museum is half Belarusian. His mother was born in our country. And this is not just a museum, but a strategic institution with a special status, directly subordinate to the Sultan. Moreover, the first international exhibition that opened in the museum was dedicated to Belarus. Let's continue bending our fingers. The current Minister of Industry of Oman is a former Honorary Consul of Belarus in this country. And the new Honorary Consul works in the oil and gas industry. The Minister of HEALTH of Oman has also visited Belarus many times. He is a DOCTOR and personally adopted the experience of the transplant center.

What are the prospects for Belarus and Oman?

Let's summarize. In fact, Alexander Lukashenko is a fairly frequent guest in the Greater Middle East, and has simply brilliant relations with many leaders of the region. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt... Developing contacts with Oman was a logical step in building a more active dialogue with this region.

Vitaly Romanovsky, an analyst at the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS), noted that Minsk's choice in favor of the progressive world majority, to which Oman belongs, is a strategic vector. "We perceive global and regional processes in a similar way and position ourselves in the international arena," he said.

The expert noted that the strategic goal of Belarus and Oman is to develop logistics corridors on our continent in order to deepen transregional transport connectivity and further expand multilateral economic partnerships.

"Minsk and Muscat attach great importance to the conjugation of the state's logistics potential and its production capacities in order to make the most efficient use of their own infrastructure to promote various products to foreign markets. For example, Oman traditionally has very close ties with the East African region. In turn, Belarus, deepening contacts with the countries of the African continent, is interested in studying the potential of Oman's special economic zones," Vitaly Romanovsky noted.
Deputy Sergei Rachkov, in turn, said that Omani businesses are primarily interested in investing in energy projects, the development of tourism and trade infrastructure, since these areas are close and well known to them. In Belarusian-Omani relations, these may not be the most pressing topics, so the emphasis can be placed on another, no less promising area - high technology.
 
"Cooperation with the High-Tech Park is one of the promising areas. We have created a number of technology parks in Minsk. We have established scientific ties with Oman. I think that today cooperation in science and technology is also very promising," said Sergei Rachkov.

As part of the presidential visit, Belarusian ministers signed cooperation documents with their Omani colleagues and worked out roadmaps for industries. In addition, outside the summit meetings, many consultations and negotiations took place at the ministerial level - the heads of the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Minsk and Muscat have enough prospects: EXPORT , joint ventures, agriculture , industry, high technology, education, healthcare, culture. There is a desire on both sides and a decent, as we mentioned, Belarusian "lobby". The main thing now is to take advantage of this historic opportunity.