Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s three-day trip to Oman from Feb. 4-6 reaffirmed Cairo and Muscat’s close relationship. The two countries’ media coverage of the “historic” visit — the first made by an Egyptian head of state to the sultanate since 2009 — underscored the decades-old warm ties between the two Arab countries. Oman’s Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah said Muscat saw Egypt as “the backbone of the Arab nation and the podium which embraces all Arabs.”

After 1970 — the year in which Sultan Qaboos bin Said ascended to power and Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser died — Egypt and Oman quickly overcome major problems that had previously plagued Cairo-Muscat relations when the two capitals were in opposing Cold War camps. During the 1960s, Nasser’s brand of Arab nationalism inspired the Marxist insurgents in the Dhofar governorate in Oman, whose rebellion against Sultan Said bin Taimur’s monarchy erupted in 1965. Yet within the framework of Qaboos’ early opening of Oman’s relations with the greater Arab world and the West, Muscat respected Egypt’s sovereignty and right to conduct its own foreign policy. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (1970-1981) simultaneously realigned Egypt with Washington and Western-backed conservative Gulf sheikdoms, bringing Cairo away from the Kremlin and left-leaning secular Arab nationalist regimes and movements in Algeria, Iraq and Syria. The sultanate earned more of Egypt’s trust when Oman (and only two other Arab League members) maintained relations with Cairo after the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979.

Since 2013, Oman, like most Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, developed relations with Sisi’s regime. In April 2015, Oman gave Egypt $500 million at the Egypt Economic Development Conference. Yet unlike Oman’s fellow GCC members, the sultanate has been largely neutral in Egypt’s internal affairs, despite criticizing the crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood supporters in 2013. Moreover, Muscat — in contrast to Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh — has neither attempted to empower nor weaken the forces of political Islam in Egypt following the 2011 revolution, making Oman a country that carries essentially no political baggage in Egypt.

Of all regional conflicts, Yemen was the focus of Sisi’s recent discussions in Muscat. Yet other issues included Lebanon, Iraq and Syria’s affairs. Egypt understands that years of conflicts in Arab states have damaged the fabric of certain Middle Eastern societies, only benefiting violent extremists. Oman’s efforts to create lasting peace in the region that can serve the Arab world’s long-term interests deserve Egypt’s support in Sisi’s eyes. Although Egypt’s economic health has relied far more on Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE than Oman, Cairo’s stance on a host of conflicts and unresolved problems in the Middle East — particularly regarding Yemen, Syria and Iran — is moving closer to Oman’s. In fact, such issues may well prompt Cairo to turn closer to Muscat for its diplomatic service as a promoter of peace and security.