Direct Muscat-Russia flight figures in talks with Lavrov

Muscat: Direct flight from Muscat to Russia was discussed during the talks session with the Russian foreign minister. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the move would positively influence the flow of Russian tourists to this beautiful country. He added that both the countries consider tourism as a promising sector in the future.
Lavrov said that the relations between the Sultanate of Oman and Russia are not subject to "any artificial influence".
During a joint press conference in the presence of Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs in Muscat on Wednesday, Lavrov expressed the satisfaction with the regular and confidential political dialogue between the two countries.
He added that both the Sultanate and Russia share similar views on efforts to solve the issues in Yemen, Libya, Palestine and other issues of the region.
The Russian Foreign Minister affirmed that the two countries should pay increased attention to promoting trade and economic cooperation in spite of the trends in the world and regional economy. He added that work on the agreement on investments protection has been initiated, which hoped to be finalised soon.
He also said that the Russian investment funds showed interest in cooperating with sovereign funds of the Sultanate, hopefully this would materialise in the context of various international economic fora including the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"The biggest venture Russian investment in the Sultanate is the Russian Gazprom Company in Sohar. Moreover, the Omani and Russian investors are showing interest in venturing in the production oil pipes," he furthered.
Lavrov said that the talks session discussed the plans to start direct flights between Russia and Muscat, which will certainly influence positively the flow of Russian tourists visiting this beautiful country. He added that both countries consider tourism as a promising sector in the future.
As for the oil prices, Lavrov said: "We discussed the oil price slump today with the Omani side, as well as with OPEC and non-OPEC producers. The markets are influenced by too many factors and it is important now to watch closely and to exchange assessments. If at some point, there would be consensus among all oil producing companies, a meeting will be made to discuss the general condition for oil prices".