04 March 2008
Goal to boost socio-cultural and people-to-people ties
The founding members are: Shaikh Suhail Salim Abdullah al Mukhaini Bahwan, Chairman of Suhail Bahwan Group; Saad Suhail Salim al Mukhaini Bahwan, Chairman of Oman Trading Establishment; Said bin Saleh al Hinai, Proprietor of Fahmy Furniture; Ahmed bin Salim al Wahaibi, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Oil Company; Sadiq al Fairuz, President of Al Fairuz Trading & Contracting Co; Sami Abdul Aziz Jaffer, Chairman of Sami Abdul Aziz Jaffer Co; and Riyadh Ali Sultan, Director of Towell Auto Centre LLC.
Speaking at the media briefing, Cho said the association's launch came against a backdrop of rapidly expanding economic and trade ties between Oman and Korea. The time was very opportune now for this relationship to be broadened to cover non-commercial areas as well, he said. Thanking the Omani business community for their initiative and support, he said the association's formation was the outcome of a yearlong effort by leading business figures keen to expand the scope of Omani-Korean ties into the social and cultural domains. Final approval from Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs came on January 19, 2008, he said.
As part of its activities, the association will organise social events, seminars, lectures and exhibitions of a technical and scientific nature. Besides sponsoring socio-cultural events, the body will also hold exchange visits by intellectuals in the fields of arts and science, and support cooperation in theatre, musical and film related activities. On the association's agenda for the year is a plan to support the visit of an eight-member Omani Taekwondo team that will train in Japan for eight weeks.
In July, the association plans to organise a visit by an Omani cultural troupe to Korea, as well as facilitate a reciprocal visit by a number of Korean cultural troupes to the Sultanate in October.
Academic cooperation between Sultan Qaboos University and Korean institutions is also envisaged.
The association will be managed by a 12-member Board of Directors, which will meet shortly to nominate a Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Secretary General and Treasurer. Membership is open to private individuals interested in furthering Oman-Korea ties.
The Association's sister organisation in Seoul, the Korea-Oman Friendship Association, was formally established last November with a similar goal to boost socio-cultural links between the two countries. Chaired by Dr Hur Nong-soo, Chairman and CEO of GS Caltex, the Association's board includes former Korean ambassadors to the Sultanate, members of the National Assembly, and CEOs of various companies. Korea is one of Oman's biggest trading partners, importing around $5 billion worth of Omani crude oil and LNG during 2006. Korean exports to the Sultanate totalled around $350 million during the same year, said Ambassador Cho.
Goal to boost socio-cultural and people-to-people ties
MUSCAT -- The Oman-Korea Friendship Association was officially launched here yesterday with the objective of injecting a strong socio-cultural component to burgeoning economic ties between the two friendly countries. The launch was formally announced at a press conference held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel and attended by the group's founding members, as well as the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Sultanate, Cho Sung-Hwan.
The founding members are: Shaikh Suhail Salim Abdullah al Mukhaini Bahwan, Chairman of Suhail Bahwan Group; Saad Suhail Salim al Mukhaini Bahwan, Chairman of Oman Trading Establishment; Said bin Saleh al Hinai, Proprietor of Fahmy Furniture; Ahmed bin Salim al Wahaibi, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Oil Company; Sadiq al Fairuz, President of Al Fairuz Trading & Contracting Co; Sami Abdul Aziz Jaffer, Chairman of Sami Abdul Aziz Jaffer Co; and Riyadh Ali Sultan, Director of Towell Auto Centre LLC.
Speaking at the media briefing, Cho said the association's launch came against a backdrop of rapidly expanding economic and trade ties between Oman and Korea. The time was very opportune now for this relationship to be broadened to cover non-commercial areas as well, he said. Thanking the Omani business community for their initiative and support, he said the association's formation was the outcome of a yearlong effort by leading business figures keen to expand the scope of Omani-Korean ties into the social and cultural domains. Final approval from Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs came on January 19, 2008, he said.
As part of its activities, the association will organise social events, seminars, lectures and exhibitions of a technical and scientific nature. Besides sponsoring socio-cultural events, the body will also hold exchange visits by intellectuals in the fields of arts and science, and support cooperation in theatre, musical and film related activities. On the association's agenda for the year is a plan to support the visit of an eight-member Omani Taekwondo team that will train in Japan for eight weeks.
In July, the association plans to organise a visit by an Omani cultural troupe to Korea, as well as facilitate a reciprocal visit by a number of Korean cultural troupes to the Sultanate in October.
Academic cooperation between Sultan Qaboos University and Korean institutions is also envisaged.
The association will be managed by a 12-member Board of Directors, which will meet shortly to nominate a Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Secretary General and Treasurer. Membership is open to private individuals interested in furthering Oman-Korea ties.
The Association's sister organisation in Seoul, the Korea-Oman Friendship Association, was formally established last November with a similar goal to boost socio-cultural links between the two countries. Chaired by Dr Hur Nong-soo, Chairman and CEO of GS Caltex, the Association's board includes former Korean ambassadors to the Sultanate, members of the National Assembly, and CEOs of various companies. Korea is one of Oman's biggest trading partners, importing around $5 billion worth of Omani crude oil and LNG during 2006. Korean exports to the Sultanate totalled around $350 million during the same year, said Ambassador Cho.
By Staff Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2008
