P.2 - Oman Tribune

NATION
2
OMAN TRIBUNE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2014
Education initiatives progressing
in right direction, says Asa’ad
National Education Symposium opens to discuss higher studies
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
EDUCATION IN OMAN WAS
of a good standard and competitive at the world-level
due to the good work and
vision of His Majesty Sultan
Qaboos Bin Said, said HH
Sayyid Asa’ad Bin Tariq Al
Said, Personal Representative
of His Majesty the Sultan here
on Tuesday.
Sayyid Asa’ad, who was
speaking on the sidelines of
the two-day National Education Symposium, said education, including higher education, in the country was progressing in the right direction
and all sectors of the country,
including families should take
part in this process.
Minister of Higher Education Her Excellency Dr Rawiyah Bint Saud Al Busaidiyah
told Oman Tribune that the
symposium was a turning
point for education and higher
education in the country. It
will see the participation of all
stakeholders and all projects
of the Education Council will
be discussed.
Rawiyah said the government had invested a lot in
education which is dynamic
and it has to keep improving
so that it is benchmarked with
other education systems.
She would like to see the
introduction of more performance-based evaluation to
keep pace with the changing
world. Education is a social
responsibility and all stake
holders including the government should participate in it,
she added.
Sultan Qaboos University’s
Assistant Vice-Chancellor
for External Cooperation
Her Highness Dr Muna Bint
Fahd Al Said told Oman Tribune that the pre-university
level students should acquire
more skills in critical thinking
and problem solving.
They should also learn more
by themselves, have more control over the type of education
they get, and move away from
spoon feeding, she added. The
students that come to university are often ‘not up to the
mark’ and therefore have to go
through a foundation year, but
are found wanting even after
that, she added.
Secretary General of the
Education Council HE Dr
Said Bin Hamad Al Rubaie
said the projects to be presented for discussion before
the symposium include: philosophy of education, the next
stages of education right up to
2040; laws related to education, including regulations for
school education and higher
education; general evaluation
of school system and quality
management of education.
He said the symposium is
an opportunity to let people
know about the projects and
offer opinions, ideas and recommendations to enrich them.
The A’Seeb ship is seen at a Singapore port.
RNO ship launched in Singapore
SINGAPORE
THE ROYAL NAVY OF
Oman (RNO) on Tuesday
celebrated the naming and
launching of A’Seeb vessel in
Singapore. A’Seeb is the first
vessel within Al Ofuq project
signed by the Sultanate with
Singaporean STM Company.
HE Sayyid Badr Bin Saud
Bin Harib Al Busaidi, Minister Responsible for De-
Oman Investment Forum to Projects market set to
be held in Tokyo from Oct. 23 receive massive boost
MUSCAT
THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY
for Investment Promotion
and Exports Development
(ITHRAA) will organise the
Oman Investment Forum in
the Japanese capital Tokyo
on October 23 and 24.
HE Dr Ali Bin Masoud Al
Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, will lead
the delegation that includes
42 senior public and private
sector representatives. The forum will seek to attract further
investment to fuel Oman’s
growing economy.
The forum aims to boost
the Omani-Japanese bilateral trade, which recorded
imports from Japan reaching
$3.13 billion and exports
from Oman totalling $5.63
billion in 2013. The forum
is expected to help increase
Oman’s non-oil exports to Japan, as well as attract Japanese
investors to the Sultanate’s
major infrastructure projects.
“Japan is one of the largest importers of oil and gas,
aluminium and fishery products from Oman,” said Faris
Al Farsi, ITHRAA’s Director General of Investment
Promotion. “The country is
a pioneering manufacturer
of industrial and electronic
technology as well as a leader
in logistics and commercial
fishing, all of which are of
interest to Oman.”
During the two-day event,
Omani officials and companies will introduce planned
and active industrial projects
from across the Sultanate to
their Japanese counterparts.
High on the agenda are the
opportunities available in
Duqm, Salalah, Sohar and
the Oman Railway Project.
The second day of the forum
will be dedicated to meetings
between Omani and Japanese
companies, in addition to site
visits to manufacturing plants,
industrial areas and commercial zones in the greater Tokyo
area. The Omani delegation
includes representatives from
the Ministry of Agriculture &
Fisheries, Ministry of Tourism
and the Ministry of Transport
and Communications, as well
as Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI),
Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE), the
State General Reserve Fund.
Oman News Agency
STAFF REPORTER
MUSCAT
OMAN’S PROJECTS MARket is set to receive a massive
boost and see around $26 billion being pumped in as the
country ramps up its investment in turnkey projects over
the next few years, according
to MEED projects which is
organising its Oman Projects
Forum 2014 this month.
The influx of up to $26 billion in capital expenditure
and pipeline opportunities,
include the latest Duqm developments valued at $12.5
billion and fisheries harbours
valued at $13.6 billion respectively.
Additionally, as much as
$45-billion worth of projects
were currently under way or
would be awarded, said MEED
project officials.
Among the projects at the
forefront of Oman’s aggressive expansion programme
are $26-billion Khazzan and
Makarem fields projects, Suwaiq IWPP and Haima solar
thermal hybrid power plan.
Besides, $13 billion is to be
invested in the Takamul downstream project and Orpic’s
Liwa plastic project initiative with another $12 billion
dedicated solely to the development of Duqm as the new
energy, industrial, residential
and tourism and leisure hub in
the country.
As such, these and other
project opportunities will be
the focus of the upcoming
MEED Oman Projects Forum 2014, which is held with
the support of the Ministry
of Commerce and Industry
and puts an emphasis on InCountry Value initiatives. The
three-day forum will begin on
October 27.
Minister of Commerce and
Industry HE Ali Bin Masoud
Al Sunaidy will deliver the
keynote address highlighting
the milestones of the country’s
economic progress and identifying the priority sectors
for investment in the next few
years.
His address is expected
to outline key initiatives to
promote In-Country Value
across Oman’s sectors as well
as spending forecast for 2015
and associated priority areas.
fence Affairs, presided over
the ceremony which was
attended by Rear Admiral
Abdullah Bin Khamis Bin
Abdullah Al Raisi, Commander of RNO.
The ceremony started with
the Omani Royal and Singaporean Anthems, followed by
the minister naming A’Seeb
vessel as ordered by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said,
the Supreme Commander of
INSIDE
the Armed Forces.
Al Raisi talked about the
importance of the project to
build four patrol ships which
will enhance the operational
capabilities of RNO to carry
out the national tasks entrusted to it in protecting
the Omani territorial waters and to contribute to
the maintenance of safety
of navigation.
Oman News Agency
NATION
GCC transport ministers
to meet today in Kuwait
MUSCAT The Sultanate represented by the Ministry
of Transport and Communications will take part in
the Ministerial Committee of Transport and Communications at GCC countries meeting to be held
on Wednesday in Kuwait. The Sultanate will be led
by HE Dr Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, accompanied by HE Eng Salim Bin Mohammed Al Nuaimi,
Undersecretary at the ministry, Eng AbdulRahman
Bin Salim Al Hatmi, CEO of Oman Railway Company and a team from the ministry.
GCC to honour cultural figures
MUSCAT The Sultanate, represented by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, will take part in a
ceremony in Kuwait on Thursday to honour the
distinguished cultural figures in the GCC countries. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saud Al Siyabi will be
honoured in the field of intellectual production,
Dr A’mna Bint Rabeea Salmeen Bait Mabrook
in the field of theatre and Khamis Bin Juma Al
Maweeti in the field of folk arts.

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