Saudi Arabia, Oman Sign Agreement and MoU on Maritime Transport

A view shows vehicles driving on a street in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 16, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
A view shows vehicles driving on a street in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 16, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
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Saudi Arabia, Oman Sign Agreement and MoU on Maritime Transport

A view shows vehicles driving on a street in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 16, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
A view shows vehicles driving on a street in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia February 16, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri

Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics Engineer Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser has signed a cooperation agreement on maritime transport with Oman, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Thursday.

Al-Jasser signed the agreement with Oman’s Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology Eng. Saeed bin Hamoud Al Maawali during his visit to Muscat, SPA said.

The agreement aims to enhance areas of cooperation in the maritime transport sector for passengers and goods, facilitate the traffic of commercial ships, develop economic relations between the two countries and contribute to raising the efficiency of maritime transport services.
It also aims to facilitate technology transfer and encourage maritime studies and training, which contributes to the localization of the vital industry, as well as providing the necessary facilities for building and maintaining ships in both countries, protecting the marine environment and reducing environmental pollution.

Saudi Deputy Minister of Transport and Logistics and Acting Head of the Public Transport Authority Dr. Rumaih bin Mohammed Al-Rumaih also signed an MoU for mutual recognition of certificates issued under the provisions of the International Agreement on Levels of Training, Certification and Shift Work for Sea Workers of 1978 and its amendments with the Omani Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology.

Another MoU was signed with Al Maawali to raise the levels of quality and efficiency of officers and sailors working aboard the ships of the two countries, and their suitability to carry out their tasks and meet the optimal standards for maritime safety, protection of property, preservation of the marine environment, and to ensure keeping pace with developments and exchange of expertise in the transfer of knowledge, training, qualification and evaluation programs to award certificates.



Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.