The Sultanate affirms that the Arab peace initiative and the international peace efforts are the most appropriate way to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of ending occupation, the return of Arab land occupied since 1967, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Sultanate called for the removal of all illegal and illegitimate Israeli settlements. This will help achieve peaceful coexistence and positive co-operation between Arab states and Israel, and contribute to a great extent towards opening up new horizons of co-operation and development in the region and the whole world. This came in the Sultanate's speech delivered by Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, before the 64th session of the UN General Assembly in New York yesterday.

He called upon Israel to participate in peace by seizing the historical opportunity to establish a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East that would achieve security and peaceful coexistence among the states and peoples of the region. The Sultanate welcomed the recent positive developments in Iraq. It hopes that such developments would continue in order to achieve security and stability, contribute to the success of comprehensive national reconciliation efforts, help establish positive relations with neighbouring countries and restore Iraq its role as an effective regional player at all levels.

The Sultanate welcomed the continued co-operation between Iran, the international community and the International Atomic Energy Agency. In this respect, "we see some positive signs leading towards a diplomatic solution." He also expressed regret that the western media, from time to time, address issues that are harmful to religions and religious symbols that affect people's beliefs, including Islam and Muslims. He considered this as contrary to efforts to spread the culture of peace, brotherhood and understanding among different religions and civilisations. He said, in line with the wise directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, who encourages openness and dialogue between different cultures, the Sultanate of Oman participated in conferences related to this matter.

On environment and climate affairs he stressed the care of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos and his directives. In co-ordination with the United Nations and the international community, the country is making great efforts to preserve our environment and territorial waters from pollution and is working to protect our national resources and achieve the declared goals of sustainable development.

On the situation in Darfur, Alawi said, "We look forward to seeing positive results from the Darfur peace talks which will be held in Doha, between the Sudanese government and the Darfur opposition. We hope that the parties concerned can reach a framework for a political agreement that would help achieve security, stability and development in Darfur".

With regard to combating terrorism, he affirmed the Sultanate’s position which condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. “We would like to emphasize the continuous support of the Sultanate of Oman for all international efforts to eliminate this phenomenon and to combat it by taking appropriate measures based on international relevant resolutions and according to what is stated in the Arab agreement of 1998 and the Treaty of Islamic Conference on Combating International Terrorism of 1999.

Meanwhile, Alawi praised the World Health Organisation (WHO) efforts and UN specialised agencies and countries to address the swine flu epidemic. He hoped that the international community would allocate more resources to invest in research and pharmaceutical industries. Pharmaceutical companies should not have any monopoly over any medication derived from this research and should be made accessible to all, and especially the poor and developing countries.