Videos of His Majesty's speech to the Council of Oman
Thanks to a friend on Facebook, I became aware that two videos have been posted to YouTube, of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos' speech to the Council of Oman yesterday.
I would recommend viewing them, since the visual impact indicates the power of the speaker. The videos are good quality and have English sub-titles. Read a transcript of the speech on the Times of Oman website.
In Part 1, His Majesty highlights the need for education and training of Omanis, particularly in Information and Communications Technology. He exhorts institutions within the country to implement and/or upgrade their IT systems in order to provide services.
Part 2 of the speech shows His Majesty warning government officials that they are in office to serve the nation and not to seek power and influence for themselves, which can be interpreted as an injunction against corruption. He refers to the current global financial system but brushes over the impact this might have on development programmes. He does announce that the country is to look into alternative energy sources and food security.
Apparently, the Omani Authority for Electricity Regulation published a report in June this year which concluded that "large-scale solar-thermal plants have the potential to provide sufficient electricity to meet all of Oman's domestic electricity requirements, as well as generating electricity for export, [as well as] significant wind energy potential in coastal areas to the south of Oman and in the mountains north of Salalah."
Food security? That's going to be hard without more water supplies. Unless taking over farms in other countries could guarantee food supply.
His Majesty finished by saying that "our international cooperation is in line with the Sultanate’s higher interests." He looked forward to the AGCC summit which would be held in Muscat "soon."
I would recommend viewing them, since the visual impact indicates the power of the speaker. The videos are good quality and have English sub-titles. Read a transcript of the speech on the Times of Oman website.
In Part 1, His Majesty highlights the need for education and training of Omanis, particularly in Information and Communications Technology. He exhorts institutions within the country to implement and/or upgrade their IT systems in order to provide services.
Part 2 of the speech shows His Majesty warning government officials that they are in office to serve the nation and not to seek power and influence for themselves, which can be interpreted as an injunction against corruption. He refers to the current global financial system but brushes over the impact this might have on development programmes. He does announce that the country is to look into alternative energy sources and food security.
Apparently, the Omani Authority for Electricity Regulation published a report in June this year which concluded that "large-scale solar-thermal plants have the potential to provide sufficient electricity to meet all of Oman's domestic electricity requirements, as well as generating electricity for export, [as well as] significant wind energy potential in coastal areas to the south of Oman and in the mountains north of Salalah."
Food security? That's going to be hard without more water supplies. Unless taking over farms in other countries could guarantee food supply.
His Majesty finished by saying that "our international cooperation is in line with the Sultanate’s higher interests." He looked forward to the AGCC summit which would be held in Muscat "soon."
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