News: The Straits Times - 1 February 2010
Muscat flavour for makeover of Muscat St
Joint S'pore road project to mark 25-year diplomatic ties with Oman
By Jeremy Au Yong
(Picture: SM Goh presenting Omani Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahad with a watercolour painting of Singapore's Muscat Street yesterday in the DPM's office. He received a silver chalice in return. - ST Photo)
MUSCAT (OMAN): Singapore's Muscat Street will soon get a makeover and a flavour of the Omani capital it is named after - with help from Oman, no less.
Injecting the 'Muscat flavour' into the historic road, located behind Sultan Mosque in the Arab Street area, is the second joint project that Singapore and Oman are embarking on, as the two countries mark 25 years of diplomatic relations this year.
The Omanis have submitted a host of suggestions, including adding Oman-style arches, benches and murals to the street. They have even offered to supply some Omani tiles.
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday discussed the Muscat Street project with Omani leaders, whom he met as he kicked off an official visit to Oman.
The earlier project, started in 2008, was the building of a replica of a ninth-century Arabian dhow, a traditional Arab sailing vessel.
Modelled after a ninth-century dhow that was found shipwrecked in Indonesia's Belitung Straits, the 17m-long
timber-and-coconut rope ship is a gift from the Sultan of Oman, who had presented it to Singapore to mark the revival of links between the Republic and the Middle East.
SM Goh will be the guest of honour at its inauguration ceremony today, after which the ship will sail to Singapore
later this month along traditional trade routes.
It is expected to arrive in Singapore five months later, depending on wind conditions.
Yesterday, SM Goh called on Omani Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahad and Foreign Minister Yousuf Alawi in his first meeting of a six-day official visit to Oman and Bahrain.
The trip will end on Thursday.
In talks lasting about one hour each, they discussed developments in the region, such as those in the Middle East, the situation in Iran and Iraq, the Middle East peace process, as well as recent developments in East and South-east Asia.
They also talked about new areas for cooperation, and how to encourage more business and people-to-people links between both countries.
The visit is Mr Goh's third to the small gulf state.
He first visited Oman in 1981 as Trade and Industry Minister, and again in 2000, when he was Prime Minister.
Trade between the two countries has grown steadily since then: It hit $1.07 billion last year, double the $576 million in 2007.
Yesterday, SM Goh presented DPM Sayyid Fahad with a watercolour painting of Muscat Street in Singapore, receiving in return a silver chalice.
During their meeting, the Omani DPM, who last visited Singapore in December 2007, said that he was impressed by Singapore's success in building a harmonious multiracial and multi-religious society, as well as Singapore's investment in human resource development.
- end of ST article