BIN ALAWI UPBEAT ON DEFEATING TERRORISM

UNCLAS MUSCAT 001171 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARPI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER OPRC XF MU SUBJECT: BIN ALAWI UPBEAT ON DEFEATING TERRORISM REF: MUSCAT 1051 ¶1. Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi extensively devoted his July 23 Renaissance Day remarks, typically used to review the ministry's achievements in the preceding year, to the international problem of terrorism. Speaking to Radio Oman's "Festival Nights" program from his residence in Salalah, the minister struck a positive tone about the situation. The political crisis in which the world finds itself as a result of terrorist attacks, he claims, is nearing its end because "the war on terrorism has become open and direct between extremist forces, on the one hand, and the world on the other hand... and we cannot imagine that regional extremist forces would defeat the whole world." ¶2. The minister alluded that the lessons learned in the war on terror would serve the interest of stability and instill a tougher defense against "destabilizing and demoralizing factors." He called for maximum efforts to guarantee the development of nations, lauding the efforts of Sultan Qaboos and the Omani public in ensuring security and stability in the Sultanate. (Note: See reftel for the minister's recent comments on a number of other regional issues in an interview with a UAE-based newspaper. End note.) BALTIMORE