OMAN MEDIA REACTION TO SULTAN'S LIBYA VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000572

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/11/2018
TAGS: MU XF XI
SUBJECT: OMAN MEDIA REACTION TO SULTAN'S LIBYA VISIT

REF: MUSCAT 308

Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for reasons 1.4 B and D


1. (U) Oman media reports Sultan Qaboos bin Said will arrive
in Libya today for an official visit with Colonel Muammar
Gaddafi. Over the next several days, the two leaders will
discuss the Oman-Libya relationship and explore opportunities
for further cooperation. They will also discuss broader Arab
and international issues.


2. (SBU) This may be the most significant stop on the
Sultan's summer travel itinerary as the Minister of the Diwan
Royal Court, the Minister of Royal Office, the Minister for
Foreign Affairs, the Minister of National Economy, the Deputy
Chairman of Financial Affairs, the Minister of Health, the
Minister of Commerce and Industry, the Minister of Transport
and Communications, and the Charge d'Affaires of the
Sultanate's Embassy in Libya will accompany him. This is the
first Omani media reporting of the Sultan's three-month long
personal holiday, since he departed for his first stop in the
UAE. The Italian media reported extensively on his visits to
Bari and Palermo.


3. (C) Comment: It has been well over 20 years since Qaboos
and Gaddafi, the only Arab ruler whose length of term in
office exceeds Qaboos', last met. Rumor has it that their
first meeting -- most likely at one of the few Arab League
summits that Qaboos has deigned to attend in his near 38-year
reign -- did not go well and no doubt explains, in part, the
Sultan's lack of enthusiasm for the mercurial Libyan. In
meetings with USG officials throughout the nineties and up to
2005, he and his government often spoke highly critically of
Gaddafi and his unpredictable and dangerous leadership style.
Only in 2006, following Gaddafi's rehabilitation and
rapprochement with the U.S. and others, did the two countries
agree to open embassies in respective capitals. We have
been told that the Libyans pressed hard for a visit by the
Sultan and, as he told the Ambassador in April (reftel),he
already had planned to be in the neighborhood.

GRAPPO