What surprised Lukashenko during his first visit to Oman in 2007
Belarus 1 TV channel revealed some details of the first state visit of President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko to the Sultanate of Oman in 2007, BelTA reports
Aleksandr Lukashenko, Qaboos bin Said Al Said, April 2007; photo by BelTA
The first state visit of the President of Belarus to the Sultanate of Oman took place in 2007. This state with an absolute monarchy welcomes no more than three official delegations annually. Aleksandr Lukashenko held a meeting with the Sultan, who combines six posts at once: Head of State, Prime Minister, Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, and Finance Minister. He is also the Central Bank Chairman. It is a peculiarity of the Omani government system.
“We had a good understanding of your state geographically, but we were surprised by the scale and level of development you have achieved," Aleksandr Lukashenko said during his visit.
That visit set priorities for trade and economic co-operation. The Belarusians arrived in Muscat as an impressive delegation consisting of heads of government agencies and representatives of the business community. The task was not only to discuss co-operation, but also to develop a legal framework for it.
Before the visit, the trade turnover was practically zero. After that, the chambers of commerce and industry of both countries started working together, and the ministries of taxes and duties signed an agreement to avoid double taxation.