The ceremony to condole the demise of Sultan Qaboos held on Sunday at Muscat was attended by kings, presidents and prime ministers of countries from across the globe. Oman is the nearest Arab country to Pakistan, as the two share maritime boundary with each other. About 30 percent Omanis are of Balochi descent from Pakistan's Balochistan province. The Gwadar seaport, which has now acquired unprecedented strategic importance, was formerly part of Oman, but was sold to Pakistan in 1958. Oman had also cooperated in extending Pakistan's territorial waters from 240,000 sq km to an additional 50,000 sq km. About 300,000 Pakistanis reside in Oman, many of them in important professional positions. The Pak Oman Investment Company is a specialized financial institution formed as joint venture between the two governments with equal share in total equity of Rs 6.15 billion. There is lot of commonality of strategic interest between the two countries - both are on the same page as far as peace in the Middle East is concerned. It is heartening to note that foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has conveyed prime minister Imran Khan's invitation to Oman's new sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said during his visit to Muscat yesterday.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020