London: The British Omani Society hosted a reception on Wednesday to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its founding—its Golden Jubilee—at Lancaster House in London, in the presence of HH Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and members of the official delegation accompanying His Majesty the Sultan.
The event held within the framework of the state visit undertaken by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to the friendly United Kingdom.
Upon his arrival at Lancaster House, HH Sayyid Theyazin was received by Stephen Doughty, Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa; Major General (Retd) Richard Stanford, Chairman of the Society’s Board of Directors and British officials.
A commemorative photograph was taken of the friends of the British Omani Society, after which HH Sayyid Theyazin shook hands with the members of the Society’s Board of Directors.
HH Sayyid the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs delivered an address during the ceremony, in which he expressed his delight at being present to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Society’s founding, lauding the considerable efforts it undertakes in support of bilateral relations between the two friendly countries.
HH Sayyid Theyazin added that the British Omani Society supported last year the launch of the Smart Industries Initiative, a platform for the two-way transfer of technology founded on the venerable British-Omani partnership, which helps Omani industry benefit from British research-driven technologies.
HH Sayyid Theyazin affirmed that youth great support from the New Generation Group and Outward Bound Oman, noting that the Society implements numerous programmes, among them the teaching of Arabic at the Sultan Qaboos Institute for Teaching Arabic to Non-Native Speakers in the Wilayat of Manah and the Student Volunteers Oman Scheme. He added that support has been extended to Omani students in the United Kingdom, giving rise to initiatives and opportunities for practical training, all of which encourage coming generations to nurture the close bonds between the two countries.
On the sidelines of the reception, bilateral meetings were held between officials from the Omani and British sides.
Present during the ceremony alongside HH Sayyid Theyazin were HH Sayyid Lu’ai bin Ghalib Al Said, Secretary-General of the Diwan of the Royal Court; Sayyid Hamoud bin Faisal Al Busaidi, Minister of Interior; Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Foreign Minister; Dr. Madiha Ahmed Al Shaibani, Minister of Education; Nasser bin Khamis Al Jashmi, Chairman of the Tax Authority; Hussain bin Ali bin Abdul Latif, Adviser at the Private Office; Anwar bin Hilal Al Jabri, Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion; Badr bin Mohammed Al Manthari, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the United Kingdom; Dr. Liane Saunders, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Sultanate of Oman and members of the Omani Embassy in London.