During his official visit to Oman on March 17, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met in Muscat with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al-Busaidi. The sides discussed a broad range of issues related to the development of cooperation between Armenia and Oman.

Mirzoyan and Al-Busaidi exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East, emphasizing the importance of giving priority to diplomacy in efforts to resolve the crisis. They also expressed concern over attacks on civilian infrastructure and the resulting casualties.

Oman’s foreign minister highly praised Mirzoyan’s decision to visit Muscat despite the difficult regional situation, describing the trip as historic. Mirzoyan, in turn, expressed gratitude for the support in organizing the visit and especially for the assistance provided in opening Armenia’s resident embassy in Oman, noting that the trip reflects Armenia’s strong interest in developing multifaceted relations with Oman and other countries in the region.

Both sides stressed that Armenia’s decision to open a resident embassy in Oman marks an important milestone in deepening bilateral relations.

In order to enrich the bilateral agenda and fully realize existing potential, the ministers discussed prospects for expanding cooperation in several areas of mutual interest.

In this context, they exchanged views on developing the legal and contractual framework and launching concrete initiatives in the fields of economy, trade, education and culture. To promote people-to-people contacts, the sides highlighted the importance of the decision to abolish visa requirements as well as launching regular direct flights.

Mirzoyan also thanked his counterpart for effective cooperation in organizing eight direct Muscat–Yerevan flights launched after February 28, through which around 550 Armenian citizens were able to return to Armenia.

Emphasizing the importance of peace, Mirzoyan also briefed his counterpart on steps aimed at institutionalizing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

During the visit, Mirzoyan signed the honorary guest book of Oman’s Foreign Ministry, writing: “It is a great honor for me to be the first foreign minister of the Republic of Armenia to visit the Sultanate of Oman — a country that deeply believes in diplomacy and stands as an advocate of peace.”

On February 28, Israel and the United States carried out airstrikes against Iran, during which Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. Iran subsequently launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and Persian Gulf countries hosting U.S. military bases.