Extreme 40 Asian finals in Muscat, early February
The Red Funnel ferry terminal at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight was the last place that I expected to be able to read about Oman. But I did. What's more, Oman Sail Masirah featured on the very front page of All At Sea, a free waterfront newspaper, as the winner of the Hong Kong leg of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia, with a front page photo of 5th placed The Wave Muscat competing.
Oman Sail Masirah also won the second leg in Singapore, with The Wave Muscat coming third.
And that is how I learnt that the third leg of this series will be held off the coast from The Wave to Al Hail, Muscat, 1st-5th February 2010. Lucky you who will be able to watch. Access is free to all to encourage interest in the sport.
It would be nice to see more made of this fantastic event in the media. Watch promotional videos which feature the two Omani crewmen on board Oman Sail Masirah. Are they being shown on Oman TV?
Oman Sail Masirah won last year's iShares Cup in Europe with Oman Sail Renaissance in third place.
iShares will not be renewing sponsorship this year, but the event will be going ahead with a different sponsor.
Oman Sail Masirah also won the second leg in Singapore, with The Wave Muscat coming third.
And that is how I learnt that the third leg of this series will be held off the coast from The Wave to Al Hail, Muscat, 1st-5th February 2010. Lucky you who will be able to watch. Access is free to all to encourage interest in the sport.
It would be nice to see more made of this fantastic event in the media. Watch promotional videos which feature the two Omani crewmen on board Oman Sail Masirah. Are they being shown on Oman TV?
Oman Sail Masirah won last year's iShares Cup in Europe with Oman Sail Renaissance in third place.
iShares will not be renewing sponsorship this year, but the event will be going ahead with a different sponsor.
Club Med coming to Salalah
French Club Med's first resort in Arabia will be at Salalah, Governorate of Dhofar in southern Oman. The company signed a deal with Muriya Tourism Development company ten days ago.
Club Med specialises in luxurious, self-contained resorts with all manner of sports and activities for adults and families. The company offers luxury accommodation in many exotic locations. If all you want to do is to vegetate in the sun for two weeks, Club Med is hard to beat - I guess. I've never been on one of their holidays myself.
The Club Med philosophy dovetails very neatly with the Ministry of Tourism policy of encouraging 'high-class' tourism in set-apart locations. Salalah has a climate which would appeal much of the year to Europeans. Its summers of cloud bound mist, the Khareef, attracts many Gulf tourists as an escape from oppressive heat. For them, Rotana and Moevenpick will offer five-star accommodation.
Dr Rajha bint Abdulameer bin Ali, Minister of Tourism speaking to the Oman Observer, justified growth in tourism because tourists spend money and stimulate the local economy. Tourism projects also provide construction jobs for labourers - nationality unspecified - and enable them to improve the lifestyle of their families. Supplying these results with local produce would stimulate the growth of SMEs, although I have my doubts about that. I wonder why she had to explain these basics.
But you know, if I was spending all that money to fly to Salalah, I'd want to get out and see a bit more. Possibly the desert, or the 'lost city of Ubar.' At least get up into the misty hills to see rain-soaked vegetation in what you think of as desert, waterfalls and Job's Tomb. September is recommended. The air is clear of dust after the mists have gone and the flowers bloom after the monsoon rains.
Club Med specialises in luxurious, self-contained resorts with all manner of sports and activities for adults and families. The company offers luxury accommodation in many exotic locations. If all you want to do is to vegetate in the sun for two weeks, Club Med is hard to beat - I guess. I've never been on one of their holidays myself.
The Club Med philosophy dovetails very neatly with the Ministry of Tourism policy of encouraging 'high-class' tourism in set-apart locations. Salalah has a climate which would appeal much of the year to Europeans. Its summers of cloud bound mist, the Khareef, attracts many Gulf tourists as an escape from oppressive heat. For them, Rotana and Moevenpick will offer five-star accommodation.
Dr Rajha bint Abdulameer bin Ali, Minister of Tourism speaking to the Oman Observer, justified growth in tourism because tourists spend money and stimulate the local economy. Tourism projects also provide construction jobs for labourers - nationality unspecified - and enable them to improve the lifestyle of their families. Supplying these results with local produce would stimulate the growth of SMEs, although I have my doubts about that. I wonder why she had to explain these basics.
But you know, if I was spending all that money to fly to Salalah, I'd want to get out and see a bit more. Possibly the desert, or the 'lost city of Ubar.' At least get up into the misty hills to see rain-soaked vegetation in what you think of as desert, waterfalls and Job's Tomb. September is recommended. The air is clear of dust after the mists have gone and the flowers bloom after the monsoon rains.
New Iran Trade Centre to be based in Muscat
Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, minister responsible for foreign affairs, visited Tehran again earlier this month for trade talks with senior government officials. At a press conference with President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, he implied that Western-sponsored talks between Israel and the Palestinians "would not have a result," and appeared to agree with the Iranian president that the Arab states needed to promote their own solution to the conflict. Has he conveyed this message to the US Secretary of State?
In another press conference convened with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki, bin Alawi was reported to have said that, "We believe that the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman should be free seas for international navigation and no change should take place there and they should not turn these places ruled by parading fleets of warships." He added that Oman does not accept "the presence of foreign military forces in these secure regions [because] such a move is a violation of the international rules and regulations."
Since none of this is reported in the Omani press, the reader must take into account that the Omani foreign minister's remarks are reported by the Iranian media, and may contain an unintended bias.
Four days after bin Alawi's return to Muscat, the Iranian Press Agency announced that a new, government backed trade centre would open in Muscat as home to 60 Iranian companies bidding for work in the Sultanate.
In another press conference convened with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki, bin Alawi was reported to have said that, "We believe that the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman should be free seas for international navigation and no change should take place there and they should not turn these places ruled by parading fleets of warships." He added that Oman does not accept "the presence of foreign military forces in these secure regions [because] such a move is a violation of the international rules and regulations."
Since none of this is reported in the Omani press, the reader must take into account that the Omani foreign minister's remarks are reported by the Iranian media, and may contain an unintended bias.
Four days after bin Alawi's return to Muscat, the Iranian Press Agency announced that a new, government backed trade centre would open in Muscat as home to 60 Iranian companies bidding for work in the Sultanate.
Oman's budget for 2010
Oman published its annual budget on January 1st. The minister for national economy, Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, said that government spending would increase by 12% compared with 2009 to 7.18 billion rials ($18.7bn) in 2010, compared with projected revenues of 6.424 billion rials, based on an oil price of $50 a barrel. Oil and gas revenues would account for 76% of government income.
The deficit will be covered by withdrawals from the State General Reserve Fund.
Government figures showed that Oman sold its oil at an average price of $51.85 a barrel in January to September last year, whereas its 2009 budget was based on a figure of $45 a barrel of oil.
Since Oman is not a member of OPEC, the country was not compelled to abide by production quotas and increased daily production of oil to 806,000 barrels in the first nine months of 2009, a rise of 7.5% compared to the same period in the previous year.
937 million rials have been allocated for expenditure on projects that will create 4,000 jobs for nationals in the labour market, including water desalination plants, schools, roads and hospitals . At which one's eyes widen. Did the minister mean that Omani nationals would actually be building these projects rather than the Asian labourers who are normally imported to carry out menial work?
"Oman's total debt as of the end of 2009 stood at 722 million Omani riyals ($1.88 billion), with domestic debt accounting for 252 million riyals of the total figure."
Major infrastructure projects will continue. Duqm Port is expected to be ready by 2012.
Macki reiterated yet again that Oman would not be joining the Gulf currency union. Neither had it any intention of changing its currency peg from the US dollar. The Sultanate left the union in 2006.
The deficit will be covered by withdrawals from the State General Reserve Fund.
Government figures showed that Oman sold its oil at an average price of $51.85 a barrel in January to September last year, whereas its 2009 budget was based on a figure of $45 a barrel of oil.
Since Oman is not a member of OPEC, the country was not compelled to abide by production quotas and increased daily production of oil to 806,000 barrels in the first nine months of 2009, a rise of 7.5% compared to the same period in the previous year.
937 million rials have been allocated for expenditure on projects that will create 4,000 jobs for nationals in the labour market, including water desalination plants, schools, roads and hospitals . At which one's eyes widen. Did the minister mean that Omani nationals would actually be building these projects rather than the Asian labourers who are normally imported to carry out menial work?
"Oman's total debt as of the end of 2009 stood at 722 million Omani riyals ($1.88 billion), with domestic debt accounting for 252 million riyals of the total figure."
Major infrastructure projects will continue. Duqm Port is expected to be ready by 2012.
Macki reiterated yet again that Oman would not be joining the Gulf currency union. Neither had it any intention of changing its currency peg from the US dollar. The Sultanate left the union in 2006.