DUBAI, 12 July 2021, (TON): Oman’s Sultan visited Saudi Arabia on his first official overseas trip since assuming power last year, with talks expected to focus on the Yemen war and economic and investment cooperation as Muscat looks to shore up its finances.

Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, whose country has joined United Nations-led efforts to secure a peace agreement in Yemen, arrived in the Red Sea city of Neom for a two-day visit.

He was greeted by Saudi King Salman in what Saudi-owned media said was the 85-year-old monarch’s first face-to-face meeting since the coronavirus pandemic began - and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The sultan recently faced his biggest challenge with demonstrations against unemployment in the debt-burdened country, which is pursuing wide-ranging reforms and austerity measures. During the visit Saudi Arabia and Oman signed a document to establish a joint coordination council to oversee several agreements.

Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, had told the Saudi-owned Asharq Alawsat newspaper on Saturday the opening of a delayed new road linking the two Gulf states would facilitate logistics and other infrastructure projects.