[Oman-L] News from GulfWire #119 (29 Oct-4 Nov)

[Joachim Duester]

The following news are extracted from GulfWire #112.
For more, see http://www.arabialink.com/GulfWire/


BRITISH FORCES TO STAY IN OMAN AFTER MANEUVERS
The British defense minister Jif Houne said that part of the British forces
will stay in Oman after the end of the joint military maneuvers with Oman
in order to support the military attacks led by the US against Afghanistan.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/011029/2001102905.html

SULTAN QABOOS RECEIVES C-iC OF U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND
Sultan Qaboos bin Said met on October 28 General Tommy Franks,
Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Central Command.  They discussed
aspects of existing cooperation between the two countries and matters of
common concern… Franks arrived here [October 27] on a several-day visit
to attend the "Swift Sword" military exercises with British troops.
Source: Kuwait News Agency [Oct.28]

QABOOS PRESIDES OVER "SWIFT SWORD II" CONCLUSION
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Supreme Commander of the Armed
Forces, today presided over the final practical demonstration phase of the
"Swift Sword II" Exercise implemented by His Majesty's armed forces and
the British Royal Forces in Wusta region from Oct 18-25… With regard to
the objectives realized by the SAF from this exercise, [exercise director,
Lt. Gen.] Al Kalbani said the SAF had achieved several training objectives
which included preparations and planning for such level of joint exercises,
organization and mechanism of joint command, linking the corps commands
with the joint command, staff performance in the joint command, practicing
the unified joint operations concept and the Post-crisis operations concept.
Source: Oman News Agency [Oct.29]

OMAN TO HOST NEXT GCC WAR DRILLS IN 2003
Brigadier Soud Sulaiman Al Habsi, Chief, EXCON Training of the second
Saif Sareea games evaluated the exercise, now in its tail end, as successful
and said that the Sultani Armed Forces would conduct joint and combined
exercises with the forces of other brotherly and friendly countries in future.
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=30649

QABOOS TO OVERSEE OMANIZATION DRIVE
His Majesty Sultan Qaboos has underlined the growing need for collective
efforts to boost Omanization, saying he would personally follow up the
implementation of the recommendations of the newly-created National
Manpower Employment Forum. "Forums and studies usually tackle
hypothetical issues but the subjects of this forum are realistic and the
implementation of its recommendations will be possible only if there is a
concerted effort from the government and the other sectors of the
community", said Sultan Qaboos.
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=30415

OMAN FORUM SEES MORE JOBS IN PRIVATE SECTOR
The Omani National Manpower Employment Forum, created recently to
boost Omanization, has come out with some concrete and tangible
recommendations, saying there is big scope for citizens to grab engineering,
accounting and technical jobs in the private sector presently dominated by
expatriates.
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=30636

SALALAH PORT PLANS $200M EXPANSION
The Port of Salalah has sought government's permission to expand its
container terminal and build a new break-water at the port facility.
The project which will be undertaken at a cost of $200 million. The port
also targets next generation ships to this strategically located port. Jack
Helton, chief executive officer of Port of Salalah speaking at the annual
general meeting of Oman Petroleum Alliance here yesterday, said that the
port's role was to create a vibrant and successful economic development in
general besides creating a world-class port and free zone that will enhance
the reputation of Oman… The expansion of the existing break-water which
will increase the capacity of the harbor by 25 per cent. The port has also
planned for the expansion of the berth apart from a terminal for cruise
lines. Salalah Port was fully privatized last year and has a capacity is 1.8
million TEUs. - Source: Times of Oman