President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq hold key talks in Cairo amid drive for more trade, investment El-Sisi praises Oman Vision 2040 during sultan’s first official trip to Egypt since becoming head of state CAIRO: Egypt and Oman have underlined the need to intensify diplomatic efforts to resolve regional crises in the interests of Arab countries and their peoples. The call came during talks between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al-Said of Oman in Cairo. The pair exchanged the highest decorations of their respective countries in celebration of Sultan Haitham’s visit to Egypt. Egypt’s Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir confirmed that the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Oman grew by 66 percent last year to $1.08 billion from $651 million in 2021. Samir said that Egyptian investments in Oman amounted to $860 million, invested in 142 public projects in the fields of tourism, investment, and infrastructure. His remarks came in his speech to the Egyptian-Omani Business Forum. Sultan Haitham was on a two-day visit to Egypt at the invitation of the Egyptian president. The visit is the first he has made to Egypt since he assumed power in January 2020. Ahmed Fahmy, spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, said the two leaders expressed satisfaction with the continuous increase in trade, and stressed their interest in enhancing efforts to promote trade among relevant authorities in their countries. They also discussed means of exchanging expertise and experiences to achieve institutional development and to modernize their respective administrative authorities. During his talks with the Omani leader, El-Sisi expressed his best wishes for the country’s success in completing the comprehensive development process of Oman Vision 2040. El-Sisi praised the historical friendly relations between Egypt and Oman, formed through decades of solidarity, consolidation, and unity in the face of crises and challenges. The Egyptian president affirmed his country’s keenness to promote these distinguished relations in a way that serves the interests of the two brotherly peoples and the entire Arab nation. The sultan lauded the special Egyptian-Omani relations and the bonds of friendship and brotherhood that bind the two peoples through history. He also stressed Oman’s keenness to strengthen existing cooperation frameworks between the two countries and open new horizons for bilateral cooperation in all fields.