Netanyahu visits Oman and meets Sultan Qaboos !!!

Relations between Israel and a number of Arab countries continue to develop and to normalize diplomatic relations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Oman during which he met with Sultan Qaboos bin Saed.

Netanyahu’s official visit to Oman was the first since 1996, according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s office.

The statement added that Netanyahu and his wife arrived in “Tel Aviv” after the conclusion of an official visit there.

The Sultan of Oman had invited Netanyahu and his wife to make this visit at the end of lengthy contacts between the two countries.

Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, the prime minister’s advisor on national security, the head of the National Security Authority, Meir Ben-Shabat, Foreign Ministry director-general Yuval Rotem, Prime Minister’s Office chief Yuval Horowitz and military secretary Brigadier General Avi Plut.

The joint statement issued at the end of the visit stressed that “the meeting dealt with ways to advance the peace process in the Middle East, as well as issues of mutual interest related to the achievement of peace and stability in the region”.

The Israeli Prime Minister said that this visit constitutes a concrete step in the implementation of Israel’s policy aimed at strengthening Israeli relations with the countries of the region by highlighting Israeli experience in the fields of security, technology and economy.

“Peace with the Arab countries may lead to peace with the Palestinians, not the other way around”, Netanyahu said at the opening ceremony of the Peres Center for Innovation in Tel Aviv.

“We always believed that if we solved the problem of the Palestinians, Arab world”.

“This is certainly true if it could be done, but perhaps it is also true and perhaps more that if we open up to the Arab world and print relations with it, it will eventually lead to the possibility of reconciliation and peace with the Palestinians”, he said.

“We must do both, but we cannot underestimate the value of openness and thirst in the Arab world toward Israel, and the main reason for this is creativity”, Netanyahu said.

The Israeli Prime Minister believes that technological innovation represents “a way to improve Israel’s relations with the Arab countries”.

He pointed out that “several neighboring countries are now extending their hand to Israel and forging relations with them without mentioning the names of these countries”.

“Technological innovation is not only an engine for progress; it is also an engine for peace.

I do not just speak theoretically.

Several neighboring countries are now reaching out to Israel and forging their relations with us.

This is a step towards peace”, he said.

“Because of technological innovation, these countries want Israeli innovations, not only for security purposes but also for civilian purposes.

They want water, health, information technology, solar power and everything”.