Speech by His Majesty the King of the Belgians on the occasion of the State Dinner for His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, the Sultan of Oman, Castle of Laeken, 3 December 2024

Your Majesty,

The Queen and I are delighted to welcome you to Belgium, having had the opportunity to visit the Sultanate of Oman on several occasions, each time enjoying a warm reception.

We have unforgettable memories of our visits, when we were welcomed by your late uncle, Sultan Qaboos, to discover the richness of your country. At the confluence of India and the African continent, the history of your country is as vast and deep as the ocean it borders. With over three thousand kilometres of coastline and enjoying a strategic position, Oman is the link between East and West. For centuries, your people have braved unforgiving seas to develop trade links, even in the most faraway places. This underscores just how important cultural and commercial exchanges with the rest of the world were, and continue to be. This unique environment between seas, mountains and vast stretches of desert was the cradle of the flourishing of a pacifist culture, deeply rooted in hospitality and respect for tradition.

The Royal Opera House Muscat is no exception in this regard. Its blend of modern architecture and traditional influences testifies to a rich cultural identity and an open-mindedness that fosters social harmony.

Your Majesty, our visit in February 2022 and the welcome you and your wife gave us was an opportunity to strengthen the economic and diplomatic ties between our two countries.

It is in this spirit that I am honoured by your visit to Belgium and look forward to seeing our relations develop. Let us jointly develop other areas of mutual interest, including innovation, defense, space industry and observation, health, academic and cultural exchanges.

Your visit to the Port of Antwerp tomorrow will be an opportunity to underline the importance our two countries place on energy diversification in meeting the current environmental challenges. It gives me great satisfaction to see the strategic partnership forged almost ten years ago with the Port of Duqm being continued between Asyad and the Consortium Antwerp Port. More recently, I had the pleasure of attending the conclusion of the agreement between DEME and OQ for the development of green hydrogen. These two major projects are the fruits of an ambitious and innovative partnership between Belgium and Oman. The strategic position of the Port of Duqm and its ambition to become a global energy hub make it an essential crossroads for trade between Europe and Asia.

Your Majesty, the global challenges we face today, be it on the European continent or in the Middle East, prompt us to strengthen our relationship more than ever. Our collective security is threatened by tensions and conflicts all around us. While strengthening our defence capabilities, both our countries firmly stand for the respect for international law, with the final aim of maintaining global stability.

As a haven of peace and stability, the Sultanate of Oman has always acted to promote consensus. As you put it: "Friend of all, enemy of none", your country is an architect of peace, working discreetly to promote tolerance and dialogue in a region blighted by numerous conflicts. You are open to the views of others, without abandoning the values of justice and harmony you embody. Your capacity for facilitation has allowed you to forge numerous alliances, always with the utmost discretion. The model of coexistence and harmony that characterises your society should be a source of inspiration to all in these particularly challenging times.

Your keen sense of discreet and effective mediation, at which you are so adept, as well as your detailed understanding of the forces at work in the region, was put to good use to ensure the safety of one of our compatriots at a moment of great danger. Thanks to your diplomacy, his life and those of other Europeans was saved. We will be forever grateful.

As the late Omani poet Zaher al-Ghafri put it, "a man like me needs to cross a bridge to reach the shore". Indeed, our two countries share strong historical, economic and diplomatic ties. The Queen and I hope that together we can continue to build on this capacity for consensus, with the same objective of bringing peace and development to our peoples and to future generations.