BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

INSTILLING cultural understanding in school children is essential to promote global peace and foster good friendship between countries.

The Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to Brunei said this will encourage collaboration and mutual development among countries in the future.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Hashil Al-Maskari said this in his welcoming address during the launching ceremony of the event ‘Brunei: My Country and Yours’ yesterday.

“It also serves our embassy’s primary focuses in strengthening people-to-people relations between Omanis and Bruneians. This in return will reflect positively in our bilateral relations that has gone from strength to strength and witnessed notable development ever since it was established back in the year 1984,” he said.

“We (Oman) have special arrangements for our Bruneian friends that grant them a visa for stays of 30 days upon arrival. All you need is to pack your bags, get yourself an air ticket... and yet again you don’t need to worry much about this, since air flight fares from the Southeast Asian region to Oman are relatively affordable,” he added.

The event was aimed to promote and allow the public to experience the uniqueness and differences between cultures of the different countries.

Other participating foreign embassies were the Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the Australian Embassy.

Present as the guest of honour was Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Hj Hazair Hj Abdullah.

The event started with the recitation of Doa Selamat and the singing of the national anthem, followed by traditional performances by participating schools.

Five schools – Chung Hwa Primary School, St George’s School, Tinkerbell Learning School, Lambak Kanan Primary School Jalan 49, and Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Primary School – participated in the event.

Guests were then invited to tour the booths and exhibitions, where traditional sweets and delicacies were offered by each embassy.

Held at the Youth Centre in the capital, the three-day event was organised by Wong Chain Event Management in collaboration with the Youth and Sports Department.

Various activities will also be held such as a visit to Kg Ayer for school students.

Fitness activities such as Zumba and circuit training are also scheduled.

Event organiser JM S Dacanay told The Brunei Times that the event is held to enable the public to learn more about other countries’ cultures.

She shared that by pairing the students up with the embassy representatives, they would be able to engage in cultural interaction while promoting the culture of Brunei.

The event is open to the public for the final day today from 9am to 9pm.

The Brunei Times