Iran, Oman discuss economic ties

Iranian and Omani economy ministers, in a meeting in New York on Sunday, expressed their countries' intention to broaden bilateral ties in all fields, particularly in the economic sector. Speaking at a meeting with his Omani counterpart Darwish al-Balushi on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) 2013 annual meetings, Ali Tayyebnia underlined Iran's great investment opportunities, and called on Omani companies to seize this significant opportunity and invest in various projects in Iran. The Omani minister, for his part, hailed the existing bilateral relations between the two Muslim country, and expressed hope that the economic relations between Tehran and Muscat would be boosted. Iran and Oman have expanded cooperation in a variety of areas such as economy and defense since former Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in 2005. The two countries signed a security agreement in August 2009. In August 2010, Iran and Oman signed an agreement to further boost mutual cooperation in the field of defense. In December 2010, the Iranian parliament approved a bill that allows Tehran to implement an agreement on security cooperation and coordination with Oman.