Saturday 04 / May / 2024
Muscat: Preparations are being finalised in Syria for a “Day of Oman” event on 1 November, which aims to showcase the country’s heritage and culture.
Ahead of the event, Dr Lubanah Mushawah, Syria’s Minister of Culture, met with Jamal bin Hassan Al-Moosawi, Secretary General of the National Museum of Oman, and the accompanying delegation in Damascus.
According to Oman News Agency, they discussed preparations made for the event, which will be held in Damascus.
The two spoke about the steps taken to activate the memorandum of understanding in the fields of culture and museums that was signed in Muscat in 2019.
They also discussed promoting cultural and museum work and collaboration opportunities between the two countries, as well as the prospects for specialised training, so that Syrian specialists can benefit from the experiences of Omanis employed in museums.
The two sides also reviewed the measures taken under the ‘Syrian Museum Collection Loan Annex’, which will be signed on the sidelines of the exhibition, and concerns the second batch of Syrian artefacts that were damaged during the previous years of uncertainty in Syria, added ONA.
The objects will undergo a conservation and restoration process, and will then be exhibited in a temporary gallery at the National Museum of Oman. The Omani and Syrian representatives also discussed the possibility of extending the loan of the manuscript of Ahmed bin Majid As Saadi, which has been on display at the National Museum of Oman since March 2020, for another year, so that visitors to the museum can see this rare artefact.
“I am happy to receive the Omani delegation and establish artistic, cultural and linguistic ties between the two countries,” said Minister Mushawah.
Adding to this, Al Moosawi said, “Damascus is the third city to host the exhibition and events of the “Day of Oman”, which will be launched on November 1 at the headquarters of the National Museum in Damascus, and will last for six months. The exhibition will convey the Omani cultural experience.
“The agreement signed between us will also help conserve the first batch of Syrian objects that were previously damaged,” he said.
“They amount to about 175 antiques, 100 of which have been restored and fully conserved, and have been returned to the custody of the Syrian side, on the sidelines of the opening of the exhibition, having been worked on by Omani specialists.”
The interview was attended by officials from the Embassy of Oman in Damascus, as well as Syria’s the Director General of Antiquities and Museums, the Director General of the Assad National Library in Damascus, the Director of Planning and International Cooperation, and the Head of the Department of International Cooperation at the Syrian Ministry of Culture.
