MUSCAT: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday visited the Youth Centre in Muscat as part of his current official visit to the Sultanate of Oman. He was accompanied by Oman’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Mohammed al Hassan.
Guterres and the delegation accompanying him were briefed about the centre’s experience, its mechanism of functioning and the activities it undertakes. He also watched a visual presentation that highlighted key indices and statistics of the centre, as well as the programmes conducted by the centre since its establishment.
The UN official toured the centre’s facilities, which include shared work spaces, a 3D printing laboratory, a drone laboratory, a virtual reality space, training halls, multi-purpose halls and other facilities.
During the visit, the UN Secretary-General also listened to a briefing about the experiences of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) showcased at the centre’s business incubator as part of partnership with the Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ASMED).
The Youth Center team gave a presentation on the goals and initiatives of the centre and then took the Secretary-General on a tour of its facilities.
The Acting Managing Director of the Youth Centre, Alya al Shanfari, said, “We had a very special tour for the UN Secretary-General. We were very happy to receive the delegation, and we took them around the Youth Centre and introduced them to the training programmes of the centre, the different labs and programmes targeted at the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
Speaking to the Observer, Al Shanfari said, “At the Youth Centre we target some of the goals that come under it’s priority such as education, welbeing, health etc. Youth Centre‘s strategic goals are empowerment of youth contribution. The centre also provides spaces within the requirements of the young people, developing cooperation with local, regional and international youth organisations to empower SMEs, works on integration with government and private agencies and institutions as well as civil society organisations in supporting and developing the youth sector in various fields."
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