A bilateral trade agreement between Ireland and Oman will be signed shortly following talks with the Omani government.

The pact was announced by Mr Tom Kitt, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, who is accompanying the President, Mrs McAleese, on her state visit to the country.

The President, pictured above with her husband, Mr Martin McAleese, on a visit to the historic fort of Nizwa, praised members of the Irish community in Oman. She said the expatriates had built an enviable reputation there.