Oman officially the Sultanate of Oman is a country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia and the oldest independent state in the Arab world. Located in a strategically important position at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the country shares land borders with the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest, and shares marine borders with Iran and Pakistan. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz (which it shares with Iran) and the Gulf of Oman forming Musandam’s coastal boundaries.
From the late 17th century, the Omani Sultanate was a powerful empire, vying with the Portuguese Empire and the British Empire for influence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence or control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to modern-day Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar.[10] When its power declined in the 20th century, the sultanate came under the influence of the United Kingdom. For over 300 years, the relations built between the two empires were based on mutual benefits. The UK recognized Oman’s geographical importance as a trading hub that secured their trading lanes in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean and protected their empire in the Indian sub-continent. Historically, Muscat was the principal trading port of the Persian Gulf region. Muscat was also among the most important trading ports of the Indian Ocean.
TURKEY AND OMAN RELATIONS
Oman–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Oman and Turkey. Turkey’s historic relationship with Oman has wavered between friendly indifference and courtship, but mutual aloofness was set aside in 2002 when the new Turkish government embraced a policy of engagement with Oman.Turkey formally recognized Oman in 1970, which declared its independence the same year and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1973. The two countries collaborated in their support for the 1979 Camp David accords and were among the four majority-Muslim states that did not break relations with Egypt after the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty in 1979.
Following the elimination of Iraq as a counterweight to Iran after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Oman, has fostered stronger ties with Turkey in an attempt to enhance GCC security.
