Muscat: Oman and Iran are planning to build a causeway linking the two countries over the strait of Hormuz, the Iranian ambassador in Muscat was cited by local media as saying.


In order to boost ties between the two countries, there is a plan to build an overpass bridge over the Strait of Hormuz, said Iranian Ambassador to Oman Ali Akbar Sibeveih.




Sibeveih said that the project would be a bridge of “peace and friendship between Iran and Oman, other GCC countries and Yemen,” according to Al Watan daily newspaper. He said that the bridge would further help in strengthening relations between Iran and Oman.




He pointed out that the project would connect Iran economically with the GCC countries and Yemen, through Oman.

The 39 kilometre-wide strait of Hormuz lies between Oman’s Musandam exclave and southern Iran. The Musandam peninsula is not contiguous with mainland Oman, and is surrounded by UAE territory. Road access to mainland Oman passes through UAE territory, but there is a ferry service between Khasab, the main city in Musandam, and Muscat, the capital.


The causeway will create a road link between Iran and a GCC country for the first time in history.




Sibeveih said that latest technology would be used in the construction and management of the bridge and it would involve contractors from both Oman and Iran.




This development comes shortly after the agreement between the two countries to increase the number of flights between the two countries from 14 to 30 per week.




The two countries also agreed to open the air for cargo flights to further cement economic cooperation. They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of training of personnel, and mutual support in international forums for the benefit of the two countries.




Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is expected to visit Oman in the near future, after he got a formal invitation from Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Sultan of Oman.




Saud Al Barwani, ambassador of Oman to Iran, submitted an invitation from the sultan to President Hassan Rouhani to pay a visit to Oman.




This would be the first visit of Rouhani to the Gulf States since becoming president.




The sultan had visited Iran to strengthen ties between the two countries and for bilateral talks with Iran last August.




He was also the first foreign ruler to visit Iran after the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, which was the first visit to Iran for an Omani ruler in 30 years.

By Gulf News

 

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