JERUSALEM, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Oman had allowed Israel's flag carrier, El Al airlines, to fly over the Omani airspace.
Netanyahu made the remark during a conference of Israeli ambassadors hosted by the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
He said that Sultan Qaboos of Oman agreed that El Al would utilize his country's airspace, shortening flight times to India.
He added that currently, Israeli air flight companies can fly over Egypt, Chad, and "probably over Sudan."
"Our diplomatic map has changed in dramatic fashion due to the diplomatic efforts undertaken by Israel," he said.
Netanyahu made an unusual visit to Oman in late October, in an apparent sign of warming relations between Israel and Oman, which do not have formal diplomatic ties. On Nov. 25, Chad's President Idriss Deby became the first Chadian leader to pay an official visit to Israel, announcing his wish to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries.
The visits were part of a wider Israeli effort to forge ties with Arab countries, with emphasis on relations with states of the Gulf.
