The general secretary of Oman's Ministry  of  Foreign affairs and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRIK) , Mr. Badr Bin Mohamed Al Busaidi , expressed his country's desire to support the development of Palestinian water sector , as water is one of the most essential elements for improving the daily living conditions of the Palestinians, which strengthens the position of his country in support of the Palestinian cause and the rights of the Palestinian people.

This came during the official visit of the head of Water Authority, Eng. Mazen Ghuneim, to Sultanate of Oman with a delegation of the Water Authority, in the presence of Palestinian Ambassador to the Sultanate, Dr.Tayseer Jaradat, where the two-day visit includes high-level meetings with a number of ministers, heads of agencies and a number of specialized research institutions in the field of water.

The series of meetings began with the meeting of the Minister of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources in the Sultanate, Dr. Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al Shehhi, who expressed his ministry's readiness to start developing a memorandum of understanding with the Water Authority to determine the general framework and areas of cooperation between the two countries, which will contribute to the development of the Palestinian water sector,  benefiting of the Omani experience in many fields, especially the construction and management of dams, in this phase, in which the Water Authority is seeking to start the work of comprehensive technical studies to find out the mechanisms and options in the development of dams in Palestine, Which would stop the waste of large quantities of water in the valleys, which average about 160 cubic meters per year, that would create a new water source under the current water situation.

The meeting also discussed a number of other areas of cooperation, including viewing the Omani experience in the development of advanced systems, the modern techniques in water harvesting, and conflict management. Al Shehhi also expressed his interest in getting acquainted with the Palestinian experience in the area of sector reform, to take advantage of them at this stage, as the Oman's Ministry seeking to reform of the water sector, he stressed also that work is underway to study the initial items for a memorandum of understanding between the parties to be signed in the near future, noting that such cooperation has particular importance and priority for his ministry as the water file is  a humanitarian and political issue that enables the Palestinian people to face the Israeli policies that are contrary to all norms, laws, and international treaties.

For his part, Eng. Ghuneim appreciated Al-Shehhi desire to support the Palestinian water sector  in implementation of the resolution of the Arab Ministerial Council for water in the tenth session, stressing the importance of integration and partnership between the Arabic countries, especially in a vital sector such as the water sector which affects life and development, stressing that such support constitutes a new form of supportive attitudes to the Sultanate and fixed relations between the two countries.

In his special meeting with Dr. Al-Busaidi, Ghuneim stressed the importance of Arab cooperation in facing the challenges, especially at this critical phase, in which the Palestinian issue is facing difficult political moves from a number of international bodies, which affect the fundamental principles of the issue, foremost the judaization of Jerusalem, and in the great constrictions on the Palestinian people, the last of which was to raise the value of deductions from the compensation to restrict the Palestinian people, Praising the Omani position of supporting the Palestinian cause over the decades.

For his part, Al-Busaidi said: “The Sultanate of Oman from the consistent position of Sultan Qaboos, stresses that the Palestinian issue should be the central issue in all regional and Arab forums, and we seek through this visit to open the way for future opportunities to support the development of the Palestinian water sector",  he also reviewed the vision and aspirations establishment of the Middle East Center for Desalination Research, and the Omani role in establishing and developing it, expressing his country's willingness to support future areas raised during this visit.

During the meeting Ghuneim discussed developments in several strategic projects, especially the Central Station programme in Gaza, calling for strengthening the Omani position compressor on Israel to stop the obstacles to such projects, He also expressed his hope that MEDRIC will play a bigger role in serving the Palestinian water sector in the coming stage, especially as desalination has become a strategic choice.

 At the end of the meeting, Ghuneim thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the invitation to this visit, as scheduled to meet with the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Sultanate, the General Secretary of Scientific Research, in addition to the meeting of the General Secretary of the Middle East Center for Desalination Research and the Chairman of the Omani Water Authority.