Oman and Iran sign a dozen agreements on Raisi's visit to the sultanate

Oman and Iran signed a dozen memorandums of understanding and cooperation programmes in energy, transport and trade on Monday during a visit to Muscat by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the first by an Iranian head of state to the sultanate during the reign of Haitham bin Tareq. 

"The Sultanate of Oman and the Islamic Republic of Iran signed (...) eight memoranda of understanding and four cooperation programmes," the Omani state news agency ONA reported. 

In addition to these agreements, which range from oil and gas to scientific research and higher education, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi said there is another package of bilateral MoUs and executive work programmes to be signed at a later date, ONA added. 

Raisi's trip was aimed at promoting bilateral cooperation and expanding economic, political and cultural interactions, the Iranian presidency said ahead of the trip. 

The Iranian president was received on his arrival in Muscat by the sultan himself, who succeeded his cousin Qaboos bin Said in January 2020 after his death. 

Oman regularly plays a mediating role in Middle East conflicts and recently intervened in the release by Iran of two British-Iranian dual nationality prisoners on 16 March.