MUSCAT, Oman

Oman's Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaid held talks on Tuesday with British Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace in Muscat.

The talks focused on “bilateral relations and ways to develop them in the context of the comprehensive agreement of solid friendship and bilateral cooperation and the joint defense agreement," Oman's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The two officials also discussed regional issues of common interest, it added.

Last October, late Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said ratified a comprehensive friendship agreement with Britain.

The agreement stipulates the commitment of mutual security to both countries and boosts defense cooperation with a view to promoting stability in the region.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara.