ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani will pay an official two-day visit to Oman from Dec. 27 to seek greater investment and increase trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, the Associated Press of Pakistan said Friday. Gilani will have an audience with Sultan Qaboos Bin Al-Said and hold talks with the Omani leadership with a focus on trade and investment and further strengthening of bilateral ties in all spheres. Gilani will be accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani. Pakistan and Oman have deep cultural, historic, religious and ethnic ties and almost 30 percent of Omani population is from Balochistan. Gwadar and Makran were part of Oman till 1958. Oman is also home to around 175,000 Pakistanis, working in diverse fields including skilled and non-skilled workers. The remittances from Oman have also seen a quantum leap over the years, increasing from 130 million in 2005-06 to $287 million in 2009-10. Sultan Qaboos visited Pakistan in 2001 and announced $100 million grant, the larger chunk of which - $ 64 million was allocated for development of Balochistan. An amount of $17.5 million was earmarked for the Gwadar International Airport and $27.5 for Gwadar, and Pakistan would urge Oman to divert the unspent amount of $19.1 million for the relief of the flood affected people. In November 2010, the UN Development Program's Human Development Report listed Oman as the “most-improved” nation in last 40 years from among 135 countries worldwide. The report identified top movers relative to the starting point in 1970. Oman ranks first out of 135, followed by Saudi Arabia (5th), Tunisia (7th), Algeria (9th) and Morocco (10th).
