By Xinhua
Abu Dubai : Oman’s Sultan Qabus bin Said met visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in the Omani capital Muscat on Saturday, news reaching here said.
During the meeting, the pair reviewed “aspects of existing cooperation between the two friendly countries in various fields,” the official Oman News Agency (ONA) said, giving no further details about the meeting.
On Saturday, Gates also held an official session of talks with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harib al Busaidi on bilateral relations, particularly in the defense field, ONA said in another report.
They also exchanged points of view on issues of common concern.
Gates is the second senior U.S. official to visit Oman within a month. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney paid a two-day visit to Oman in mid March as part of his Mideast regional tour.
The United States has access to four air bases in Oman, one of which lies some 50 miles from Iran. Oman shares with Iran the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic marine passage for some 30 percent of the world’s oil supply.