Incoming state visit #12: Oman

Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman made a state visit to Belgium, responding to the invitation of King Philippe & Queen Mathilde. Oman has very successfully established itself as a diplomatic mediator between East and West, and Belgium in turn has been focussing on the access to sustainable hydrogen sources in Oman. 

3 December 2024

Official welcome ceremony at the royal palace in Brussels.

State banquet at the Castle of Laeken.

🇧🇪🇴🇲 STATE VISIT OMAN TO BELGIUM

🍽️ State Banquet in honor of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman, organized by Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde

📍 Castle of Laeken, the residence of Philippe and Mathilde, Brussels pic.twitter.com/SRHFmq0F1Y

— [Wim Dehandschutter] (@WDehandschutter) December 3, 2024

Among the guests was Olivier Vandecasteele, a Belgian humanitarian aid worker who was kept captive in Iran. Thanks to the Omani diplomatic intervention, Mr Vandecasteele and several colleagues were liberated. King Philippe also referred to this in his speech: "Your keen sense of discreet and effective mediation, at which you are so adept, as well as your detailed understanding of the forces at work in the region, was put to good use to ensure the safety of one of our compatriots at a moment of great danger. Thanks to your diplomacy, his life and those of other Europeans was saved. We will be forever grateful."

🇧🇪🇴🇲 Olivier Vandecasteele @ state banquet of the State Visit of Oman to Belgium

⛑️ The aid worker was sentenced in prison in Iran.

🔁 Thanks to the mediation of the Sultan of Oman, Belgium and Iran have carried out a prisoner swap involving Vandecasteele and Iranian prisoner. pic.twitter.com/7FdOue8QjD

— [Wim Dehandschutter] (@WDehandschutter) December 3, 2024

4 December 2024

In the morning King Philippe accompanied the Sultan to the harbour of Antwerp, while Mathilde took part in another activity: the European Health Summit in Brussels.

At noon they met for lunch at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo. 

This was the end of the state visit.