BICOM

The UK will open a new military training base in Oman next year as it looks to bolster its relationships with Gulf allies after Brexit.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson made the announcement yesterday on a visit to Oman to oversee a joint British-Omani military training exercise dubbed the “Saif Sareea 3”. Five thousand five hundred British armed forces personnel are participating in the joint exercise in what Williamson said is “the largest military exercise that is going on in the world at present. Britain isn’t retreating from the world. We are stepping out.”

He added: “Our relationship with Oman is built on centuries of cooperation and we are cementing that long into the future with the opening of our new joint base. We stand as a beacon of stability in the region. This has never been more important as malign activity by hostile states and violent extremist organisations seek to undermine stability and subvert the rules based order on which we all rely.”

UK troops will deploy to the joint training base in March 2019 to work and train alongside Omani forces. Defence Secretary Williamson also met the Sultan of Oman and his Omani counterpart, where they discussed defence and civil cooperation between the two countries. Earlier this year, Britain opened a permanent military base in Bahrain.

Israeli Minister for Intelligence and Transportation, Israel Katz, is participating in an international transportation conference in Oman today. He will present his regional transportation initiative called “Tracks for Regional Peace”. The initiative would create a regional transportation system starting from the Haifa-Beit She’an rail line, run through the West Bank and extend eastward to Jordan and beyond. It is hoped the plan will enhance trade relations and promote peaceful coexistence.

Katz said “the invitation of the Government of Oman and the visit are part of a comprehensive move to promote the initiative and strengthen the ties with the pragmatic states in the region”. It is the first time an Israeli minister has been formally invited to participate in an international conference in Oman. Oman has no formal diplomatic relationship with Israel.