Financier and CCAS board of directors chairman Nemir Kirdar noted that in order to attend the ceremony he stopped in Washington en route from London to Budapest. In his remarks, Kirdar described Sultan Qaboos as a visionary ruler who has made a difference in the world and who has been a generous supporter of Georgetown University. No university in the U.S. puts so much emphasis on the Arab world, publishes as many papers, has so many Middle Eastern Studies students, or offers as many Middle East-related courses, Kirdar said. He also gave his personal impressions of Oman, extolling not only its natural beauty and architectural design, but behind that facade the infrastructure of people and organizations. The country now has 10 colleges and universities and Oman graduates highly skilled men and women who are the backbone of that infrastructure, Kirdar said.
Oman is a country that works.
When Qaboos took over from his father, he lost no time as he took the country from a dark cave into the sunshine. Besides building a first-class infrastructure and embracing the technology revolution, Qaboos has encouraged individual and religious freedom, the equality of Omani citizens and the rule of law, and his country is on the way to building a democracy, Kirdar said. Beyond Oman s borders, Sultan Qaboos has performed a visionary and courageous diplomatic role in the region. He supports universities in Egypt and India, and various causes from the Palestinian people to handicapped children in The Netherlands. Kirdar added that a lot of credit must also be given to Oman s team of diplomats and to its Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs Yousef Bin Alawi Bin Abdulla.