UK to increase military training in Oman

The UK has committed to increase its short term training effort in Oman by a third, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has confirmed.

Britain will deploy 45 short term training teams this year, compared to the annual average of 35. The teams will work to train Oman troops in a range of skills including crisis management, instructing medical teams in combat response and teaching engineers how to use vital equipment.

The announcement was made after Fallon met with Omani Minister Responsible for Defence Affairs, His Excellency Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Harub Al Busaidi. The two reviewed the current defence relationship and signed new a new defence Memorandum of Understanding.

Fallon said: “This training uplift underlines the commitment we made in our Strategic Defence and Security Review to increase our partnerships in the Gulf region.

“Oman is our friend. We are working more closely than ever with them across military, counter-terrorism and intelligence fields to tackle shared threats to stability.”