Newsletter No. 972
News-Analysis
April 10, 2008

 

OMANI MINISTER’S TOUR OF JAPAN

In a story that was covered pretty well in the Omani press but virtually ignored in the Japanese press, His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tarik al-Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture of the Sultanate of Oman, visited Japan from March 31st to April 5th as a guest of Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura.

Among the officials upon whom Sayyid Haitham paid courtesy calls were Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Fukuda, and of course Foreign Minister Komura. Other people that he met included Seishiro Eto, the chairman of the Japan-Oman Parliamentary Friendship Association. Since his visit was a relatively long one, Sayyid Haitham also had a chance to leave the Tokyo area and see Nagoya and Kyoto.

During his meeting with Emperor Akihito, Sayyid Haitham passed along a message of greeting and hopes for prosperity from Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The meeting with Foreign Minister Komura included a discussion about Iran, expanding mutual exchanges, and tightening Japanese relations with the GCC as a whole.

More details about the bilateral relationship can be gleaned from the following joint statement which was issued some days ago:

Joint Announcement between Japan and the Sultanate of Oman
April 2008

On the occasion of the visit to Japan of His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tarik Al Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture of the Sultanate of Oman, from 31 March to 5 April, 2008, at the invitation of His Excellency Mr. Masahiko Koumura, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Government of Japan and the Government of the Sultanate of Oman jointly announced the firm wishes to further the bilateral relationship through exchanges and cooperation in the following fields:

1. Cultural Exchanges

1) Both sides intend to encourage the following activities of both nationals:

-- Exchanges of artists and cultural experts
-- Holding of lectures, seminars, art exhibitions and other cultural events
-- Exchanges of books, periodicals and other publications
-- Translation and publication of selected works of literature in Japanese, Arabic and English
-- Further mutual understanding of culture and other cultural achievements in each country
-- Cooperation in the field of archeology

2) Both sides will promote and facilitate cooperation among various organizations and institutions of both sides including the Japan Foundation, paying special attention to the year 2012, which marks the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic relationships between the two countries. In this connection, Embassy of Japan in Oman intends to hold cultural events in Muscat for the celebration of the Anniversary.

2. Exchanges on Academic, Educational, Youth, Sports and Social Issues

Both sides will encourage the following:

1) Exchanges of scholars, students, researchers, youth, as well as sports players and others.
2) Exchange between higher education and research institutions.
3) Exchange of information on social welfare education and other social agenda, including the social status of women, through conferences, seminars and Internet.

3. Other Areas of Cooperation

1) Both sides will facilitate cooperation on human resource development, especially for developing future industrial leaders. The Omani side will consider establishing a new scholarship for this purpose. The Japanese side will consider ways to provide educational and training opportunities for future industrial leaders and to enhance its assistance to strengthen the capacity of Omani workers.

2) With regard to the protection of the environment, the Omani side appreciated the contribution by Japanese organizations such as JICA for their technical cooperation represented in Mangrove Forestry. The Japanese side paid special tribute to the victims of the Cyclone Gonu which hit the Sultanate in June, 2007, and both sides reiterated their determination to achieve an effective global framework beyond 2012 for climate change, while ensuring the responsible participation of all major emitting countries in the world. In this regard, the Omani side expressed its great expectation toward the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit meeting chaired by Japan and supported the Japanese initiatives Cool Earth 50 and the Cool Earth Promotion Program. Both sides also recognized the importance of utilizing environment friendly technology or energy efficiency and conservation technology.

3) As for tourism promotion, both sides acknowledged the potential of tourism promotion in the two countries with rich cultural and natural heritage, and the Japanese side welcomed the positive initiative by Oman to open a tourism promotion office in Japan.

OTHER RECENT EVENTS IN JAPAN-OMAN RELATIONS

Sayyid Haitham’s visit to Japan was the most significant event in Japan-Oman relations so far this year, but there have been some other events as follows:

New Omani Ambassador Presents His Credentials

On the afternoon of February 8th, the new Omani ambassador to Tokyo, Khalid bin Hashil bin Mohammed Al-Muslahi, presented his credentials to Emperor Akihito.

Japanese Friendship Promotion Vessel Calls at Sultan Qaboos Port

On February 10th, the Japanese friendship promotion vessel Nippon Maru, carrying 260 youths and 117 crew members, arrived at Sultan Qaboos Port on a three-day call. This ship’s visit was organized by the Japanese government under “Ship of the World Youth Programme” in order to promote mutual understanding and friendship among youths from different parts of the world, and to forge the spirit of international cooperation among them. The Japanese youths on board the ship also take part in sports exchange events and discussions with Omani youths. Oman has now been visited five times by the Nippon Maru, with the last visit of the ship having come in 1998.

Japan’s Embassy in Muscat Holds Seminar on Working Women

At the end of March, the Japanese Embassy in Muscat and the Japan Foundation in cooperation with the Omani Ministry of Social Development held a seminar entitled “Working in Today's World as Women” at the Muscat International Hotel. The speakers were three female professors from Japan whose names were given only as Meguro, Kenjo, and Nakanishi. The personal names of the three were not given, but I gather that “Nakanishi” refers to Hisae Nakanishi of Nagoya University, who is an expert on IR and gender issues in West Asia.

Dr. Nadia al-Wardiyah, a member of the State Council of Oman, also highlighted her own role as a working woman in her comments.

The media reports suggest that the seminar was well-received by the audience, but it is not clear just how large an event that this was. Ambassador Keiji Omori was quoted as saying: “This seminar is a good opportunity to reconsider the issues of women and this is important not only for women but also for men. I believe this is very important for Japanese and Omanis to consider various issues of women in general, since their responsibilities and status have increased with time.”