Vessels of the Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) and a number of Iranian naval vessels carried out joint naval exercise (Search and Rescue), with support from helicopters of the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) and the Royal Oman Police (ROP).
The Omani Coast Guard Police took part in activities of the exercise in the Omani territorial waters. The exercise is part of RNO’s training plans with sisterly and friendly countries to share experiences and sustain high efficiency in various military fields.
According to the outlined plan, the exercise included training fields for rescue procedures and marine research requirements, Oman News Agency (ONA) reported.
The implementation of this annual exercise comes on the sidelines of the meetings of the Omani-Iranian Military Friendship Joint Committee being held in Muscat during 13 to 19 April 2019.
The activities of the exercise were attended by Brigadier General Hamad bin Rashid al-Balushi, Assistant Chief-of-Staff of the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) for Operations and Planning, Head of the Omani side in the Omani-Iranian Military Friendship Joint Committee, Brigadier General Dr. Qadeer Nizami, Deputy Chief of Iranian Armed Forces for International Affairs, Head of the Iranian side in the Omani-Iranian Military Friendship Joint Committee.
The activities of the exercise were also attended by members of the Joint Committee from both sides and RNO Senior Officers.
Meanwhile, addressing a meeting in Masqat with 120 representatives from Iran’s business and economic sectors, Iranian Ambassador to Oman Mohammad Reza Nouri Shahroudi highlighted a growth in ties between the two neighboring nations in the area of defense and trade.
The Diplomat announced that two neighbors planned to create a new direct shipping route by the end of this month, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.
Shahroudi further pointed to a rise in the number of direct flights between the two countries, adding that the enhancement of maritime transportation between Iran and Oman helped further strengthen bilateral economic cooperation.
He added that Iran-Oman trade hit $700 million in an 11-month period during 2018-2019.
