MUSCAT: Mitsugu Saito, Ambassador of Japan to the Sultanate, hosted a reception to welcome back participants of the Ship for World Youth (SWY) Programme FY 2017 at his residence on August 14.
The recent trip, which was organised from January 16 until March 2, was the tenth participation of the Omani youth in this programme, where 12 Omani participants including the national leader presented the Sultanate.
The programme consisted of two phases; the first phase was 12-day stay in Japan, including 5 days stay in local cities and the second phase was 30 days on board sailing programme to India and Sri Lanka.
About 120 young Japanese and 140 young people from around the world were on board and discussed common issues from a global perspective and participated in multilateral exchange activities.
The Japanese government started the Ship for World Youth Programme in 1988, which is a multi-national youth exchange programme implemented by the Japanese Cabinet Office in order to provide a broader global vision and foster the spirit of international cooperation and to up bring youth leadership in them as well as to promote mutual understanding and creating friendships among multi-national participants including Japanese. So far, more than 120 Omani youth have participated in the programme.
Omani SWY alumni are actively working in various fields in Oman, including Saud bin Salim al Balushi, Under-Secretary, Ministry of Education, and Prof Dr Ahmed Hasan al Balushi, Dean of Caledonian College of Engineering.
In his welcoming speech, Ambassador Saito expressed his appreciation for the active role played by Ship for World Youth Alumni Association (SWYAA) in Oman and highlighted the importance of close cooperation between the embassy and SWYAA for further deepening mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and Oman.
Mahmood al Farsi, Deputy Chairman of the SWYAA, in his speech on behalf of the SWYAA thanked the Government of Japan for the opportunity to participate in the programme and asserted the Association’s wish to foster closer ties and cooperation with the embassy.
Said al Thuhli, National Leader for Ship for World Youth Programme FY 2017, reviewed his previous experience through the FY 2017 programme.
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