Israel's intelligence minister to pay rare visit to Oman

An Israeli cabinet minister will hold an official trip to Oman next week, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his government on Sunday.

Netanyahu said that Yisrael Katz, Israel's intelligence and transportation minister, will participate in an international transportation conference in Oman.

During his visit, Katz will present his "railways for peace," a joint initiative of Katz and Netanyahu, which calls for the construction of railway networks to connect the Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea through Israel and Jordan.

Katz was reportedly personally invited to the convention by the transportation minister of Oman, according to a report in the Hebrew-language Walla news site.

Oman, like most Arab states in the Middle East, does not hold official diplomatic ties with Israel. The visit will mark the first time an Israeli minister was invited to an international conference held in Oman.

In addition, Israel's Communications Minister Ayoob Kara is scheduled to depart on Monday to an international communication conference in Dubai.

The planned visits were the latest signs of the warming ties between Israel and states of the Gulf.

The announcement came two days after Netanyahu had returned from a one-day visit in Oman, during which he met with the leader of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Netanyahu described the Omani leader as "a very experienced and impressive man" and said he had a long meeting with him, during which they discussed in detail "the challenges facing the Middle East," including security issues.

Other high-ranking Israeli officials including Mossad Director Yossi Cohen and National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat also participated in the visit, according to a statement issued on Friday by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

The visit was a "significant step" in implementing the policy outlined by Netanyahu on "deepening relations with the states of the region while leveraging Israel's advantages in security, technology and economic matters," read the statement.

Israeli media called Netanyahu's visit to Oman "a secret visit" and quoted Palestinian reports as saying that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also paid a visit to Oman earlier this week.

Netanyahu's visit was the first meeting between leaders of the two countries since 1996. Israeli former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin made a similar surprise visit to Oman in 1994.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)