Pranab hands over PM's letter to Oman's Sultan

Dubai, Mar 13: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee has handed over a letter from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Oman's Sultan Qaboos Bin Said on deepening bilateral relations and matters of mutual interest.

During a meeting with the Sultan yesterday Mr Mukherjee, who announced formation of a joint committee for military cooperation during his visit to Muscat, stressed friendly bilateral ties between two countries, media reports said.

The decision to set up the committee, to be headed by Defence Under-Secretaries in the two countries, was announced after the talks Mr Mukherjee had with Oman's Minister for Defence Affairs Sayyid Badr Bin Saud Al Busaidi.

The committee was set up under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in New Delhi in December last year during a visit to India by Mr Sayyid Badr.

Mr Mukherjee, who began his official visit of Oman on Friday, said more institutional agreements between the countries are on the anvil.

With the operations of the Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO) well under way, the imbalance in the current bilateral trade would be rectified, he said.

The Minister toured a local museum and inaugurated an exhibition of paintings by one Indian and six Omani artists -- all of them women -- organised as part of celebrations of 50 years of Oman-India diplomatic relations.

The artists were Ms Adity Chakravarti from India and Ms Omanis Enaam al Lawati, Ms Naila al Mamary, Ms Naima al Maimani, Ms Nadia al Balushi, Ms Tahira Fida Hussain and Ms Mayada Reehan.

UNI