On 22 May, the United Kingdom and Oman signed in London a cooperation and partnership agreement that refers to several fields such as politics, economy, science and culture. The Omani foreign minister Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah and the UK secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs Jeremy Hunt attended the meeting in London. The Omani official news agency states that the agreement is a “documentation of the firm friendship between the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Government of the United Kingdom.  It comes to develop and enhance the deep ties binding the two sides, as well as the joint visions for better future for these relations and mutual interests of the two friendly countries and peoples”. Last February London and Muscat signed a historic Joint Defence Agreement that allows the UK to operate in Omani territory in exchange of a commitment to promote the security of the region.