Local Editor
US Defence Secretary James Mattis has arrived in Oman and will meet Sultan Qaboos on Monday, with the pair set to discuss a packed agenda that includes the Yemen conflict, defence relations and counterterrorism.
On his first trip to Oman as Pentagon chief, Mattis told reporters on Sunday that the Gulf Cooperation Council’s unity has been “strained, to put it mildly,” adding that he wants to hear what the sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said Al Said, says can be done about that situation.
He also wants to hear the sultan’s views on the factions fighting on Oman’s border with Yemen and on Yemen’s civil war, he said.
Qaboos has long endorsed terminating the violence in Yemen, Mattis noted, calling the sultan a “very strategic leader” who recognizes the advantage that violent extremists gain from disarray there.
Mattis said he and Qaboos also will discuss ways to further strengthen the U.S.-Oman military-to-military relationship.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
