Watch in full: The King's speech at the Oman State Banquet — Transcript

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1. 0:19Your Majesty,
2. 0:20Your Highnesses, ladies and gentlemen,
3. 0:24it is always a treasured moment to
4. 0:26receive such dear
5. 0:28and old friends on a special visit such
6. 0:31as this.
7. 0:33And whilst I know just how familiar you
8. 0:35are with these shores, Your Majesty,
9. 0:37my wife and I take the utmost pleasure
10. 0:41in welcoming you welcoming you back to
11. 0:43Windsor Castle this evening.
12. 0:46And let me say
13. 0:48marhaban
14. 0:50bizerin leikum al.
15. 0:54Oman is one of the um
16. 0:57of Britain's oldest allies.
17. 0:59And after all these years, I pray one of
18. 1:02your closest friends.
19. 1:05And from this privileged position,
20. 1:07we recognize that a thousand years
21. 1:10before our countrymen first met,
22. 1:13a millennium before
23. 1:15there was even a United Kingdom,
24. 1:18uh Omani mariners were already trading
25. 1:21across
26. 1:22the Indian Ocean to extend Oman's great
27. 1:26frankincense trails,
28. 1:28which had already stretched across
29. 1:31Mesopotamia
30. 1:33and the Mediterranean for a thousand
31. 1:35years before that.
32. 1:37And indeed, a thousand years before
33. 1:39that.
34. 1:41This does, I must say, put some of our
35. 1:44own claims to seafaring prowess
36. 1:47into true perspective.
37. 1:51So, from Britain's very first meetings
38. 1:54with these renowned Omani merchants,
39. 1:57our friendship grew from the sea
40. 2:00as a maritime partners in the 17th
41. 2:03century,
42. 2:04treaty partners in the 18th,
43. 2:08strategic partners in the 19th,
44. 2:11brothers-in-arms in the 20th,
45. 2:14and today in the 21st century, we are
46. 2:18bonded by diplomacy, defense,
47. 2:21trade, and trust.
48. 2:26For my own part, I
49. 2:28I've been immensely fortunate and
50. 2:29blessed
51. 2:30to come to know Oman over many years
52. 2:34and many visits,
53. 2:36including spending precious moments
54. 2:39escorted from time to time by Her
55. 2:41Majesty, I seem to remember,
56. 2:43trying to paint the breathtaking
57. 2:45landscape of Oman,
58. 2:48a landscape which um
59. 2:50was well described by the great 14th
60. 2:53century explorer
61. 2:54Ibn Battuta as being most striking in
62. 2:58beauty.
63. 3:01As the great Omani poet Abu Muslim
64. 3:03al-Walani described so wonderfully,
65. 3:07Wallayha mariat tilka riyadu nawadirana.
66. 3:12Tudam mikuhair tibasalambi
67. 3:16nnsair imyu.
68. 3:19So, over these decades, I was privileged
69. 3:22to know your distinguished
70. 3:25predecessor
71. 3:26and my dear friend and brother,
72. 3:29His late Majesty Sultan Qaboos,
73. 3:32who so successfully transformed
74. 3:36Oman whilst preserving your ancient
75. 3:39culture,
76. 3:40and who pursued with remarkable uh
77. 3:43wisdom a foreign policy founded on
78. 3:46openness and dialogue.
79. 3:49We in Britain owe so much to his
80. 3:52inspired leadership.
81. 3:54And I hold in great affection
82. 3:57the memories of the many meetings I had
83. 3:59with him
84. 4:00ever since my first visit
85. 4:02to your country 46 years ago.
86. 4:07>> [snorts]
87. 4:08>> Within Oman, your majesty has
88. 4:10strengthened the institutions of the
89. 4:12state
90. 4:14and started the important journey of
91. 4:16diversifying
92. 4:17and decarbonizing
93. 4:19Oman's economy
94. 4:21through your Vision 2040.
95. 4:24Thanks to your energetic and far-sighted
96. 4:27leadership,
97. 4:29this national renewal
98. 4:31pursued with quiet uh
99. 4:34determination
100. 4:36has put the importance of of skills and
101. 4:39education
102. 4:40at the very heart of your development.
103. 4:44In doing so, you have most thoughtfully
104. 4:46placed Oman's young people
105. 4:49as the central driving force of your
106. 4:52nation's future, innovation, growth, and
107. 4:55progress.
108. 4:58If I may, your majesty, I I would
109. 5:00especially like to recognize
110. 5:03at a time when conflict has returned so
111. 5:05painfully to the region,
112. 5:08Oman's enduring commitment as a trusted
113. 5:11interlocutor
114. 5:12to all parties.
115. 5:15Oman's noble efforts in trying to keep
116. 5:18open one of the world's most important
117. 5:20shipping routes
118. 5:22have been
119. 5:23of great service to the whole
120. 5:25international community.
121. 5:28And particularly to the most vulnerable
122. 5:30of those affected.
123. 5:33Alongside others from the region,
124. 5:36we stood with you in conflict over 50
125. 5:39years ago.
126. 5:41This experience
127. 5:42and the years since
128. 5:44have helped us understand the depth
129. 5:47of relationships in the region
130. 5:50and uh the complexity of issues
131. 5:54and through uh your eyes an insight
132. 5:58into where common ground might be found.
133. 6:02Oman's role across the Gulf and her
134. 6:04constructive neutrality, as you put it,
135. 6:07matters far beyond Hormuz and is worthy
136. 6:11of our utmost respect.
137. 6:16As the Prophet Muhammad said of the
138. 6:18character of the people of Oman,
139. 6:20law anna ahala ummana atita
140. 6:24ma sabuka wala darubuka.
141. 6:31The unique
142. 6:33and special relationship we share helps
143. 6:36to make the world and our people safe.
144. 6:40We are all exceptionally proud of the
145. 6:43lone service officers who serve
146. 6:45in both our nations
147. 6:47and we are deeply grateful for the
148. 6:49hospitality offered by Oman
149. 6:53to our armed forces
150. 6:55including that which your majesty's
151. 6:57armed forces association
152. 6:59extends to British veterans whose own
153. 7:02contribution to Oman is so important to
154. 7:05us all.
155. 7:08In your future too, Britain is deeply
156. 7:10invested
157. 7:12as you are so actively in ours.
158. 7:15Our connections matter deeply
159. 7:18and in this regard, I have been
160. 7:20especially delighted to see our sons,
161. 7:24Prince of Wales and His Highness
162. 7:26uh Sayyid Theyazin become joint patrons
163. 7:30of the Jewel of Arabia expedition.
164. 7:33Your Majesty, there can be few happier
165. 7:36symbols of success
166. 7:38than a living relationship being passed
167. 7:41from one generation to the next.
168. 7:46Ladies and gentlemen, the rich variety
169. 7:50of the cultural organizations which
170. 7:52connect our countries
171. 7:54are evidence that our students and sons,
172. 7:57scientists and soldiers,
173. 7:59investors and sailors,
174. 8:01merchants and authors walk in the
175. 8:04footsteps of Bertram Thomas
176. 8:07and Salim bin Kabut
177. 8:09in binding together Britain and Oman
178. 8:12as we continue to explore together
179. 8:15the vast empty quarters of our modern
180. 8:17world.
181. 8:20Your Majesty,
182. 8:21neither of us can know precisely
183. 8:25what challenges our successors will
184. 8:27face.
185. 8:29Despite our constant efforts,
186. 8:32climate change will regrettably alter
187. 8:35the lands and seas they inherit.
188. 8:38Artificial intelligence holds
189. 8:40both promise and peril
190. 8:43unless managed with great wisdom and
191. 8:46foresight.
192. 8:48Competition for resources will test the
193. 8:51international order in ways we cannot
194. 8:54yet foresee.
195. 8:57But this much we do know,
196. 8:59our successors will rely on trusted
197. 9:01friends.
198. 9:03They will need allies prepared to work
199. 9:05together across difference
200. 9:08to defend peace and international law,
201. 9:12to marry innovation with stewardship,
202. 9:15and to think not merely about the next
203. 9:17year,
204. 9:18but about generations to come.
205. 9:23For centuries, Oman and Britain have
206. 9:25done precisely that.
207. 9:27In the treaty we signed in 1800,
208. 9:30our predecessors hoped that the
209. 9:32friendship between our two states would
210. 9:35remain unshook till the end of time.
211. 9:40It was an ambitious promise,
212. 9:43but more than 200 years later,
213. 9:46it has proved to be a promise
214. 9:48fulfilled by the living connections
215. 9:51between Britain and Oman,
216. 9:53embodied in the generations of
217. 9:56relationships
218. 9:57that have forged an unshakeable
219. 9:59friendship between us.
220. 10:02Your Majesty, I
221. 10:04hope this state visit shows the
222. 10:06importance the United Kingdom attaches
223. 10:09to Oman,
224. 10:10to its monarchy,
225. 10:12and institutions, and to our friendship
226. 10:15with you personally.
227. 10:17May I perhaps convey upon you the
228. 10:20blessing written by the great Omani
229. 10:22poet, Sheikh Al Bayan.
230. 10:27Ishfiq Amalin Musta Midden Ni Ummatan.
231. 10:32Min Rab Kal Wahab Ilah
232. 10:35Mutanai Akhia.
233. 10:39So, ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to
234. 10:42rise and drink a toast
235. 10:45to His Majesty the Sultan and then to
236. 10:47the enduring friendship between the
237. 10:49Sultanate of Oman and the United
238. 10:51Kingdom.
239. 12:20>> [music]