Saturday 14 / December / 2024
Geneva: At the behest of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, HH Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham Al Said, Honorary President of the Programme for Promising Omani Start-ups on Wednesday visited a number of international organisations, research centres and business incubators in Geneva, Swiss Confederation.
HH Sayyid Bilarab met with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The meeting discussed the pioneering role of the WTO in overcoming the challenges facing the global economy. It also touched on developments in negotiations in the World Trade Organisation, global economic opportunities and the procedures for ratifying the fisheries subsidy agreement, in addition to discussing cooperation opportunities to support innovative and technological startups.
During the meeting, WTO Director General affirmed that start-ups are the future of global economies.
HH Sayyid Bilarab was briefed on the initiatives of the WTO in the fields of support for small and medium enterprises, and the opportunities for cooperation between the organization and the Sultanate of Oman in this area, in a way that enhances the growth opportunities for these enterprises and contributes to their expansion regionally and scientifically.
HH Sayyid Bilarab also went on tour of the WTO’s facilities.
Meanwhile, HH Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham Al Said met with Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The meeting reviewed aspects of cooperation between the Sultanate of Oman and the WIPO. It also discussed the Frankincense (Luban) Project, due to be implemented next July in cooperation between Oman and the WIPO.
During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on implementing cooperation programmes with WIPO Academy in Oman to support entrepreneurs. They also explored means of enhancing cooperation between the WIPO and the Programme for Promising Omani Start-ups.
HH Sayyid Bilarab was also briefed on the Omani version of the course on Basics of Intellectual Property Course DL101 - which aims at disseminating awareness on the importance of intellectual property in the Sultanate of Oman. It targets workers in the intellectual property sector and innovators to contribute to generating new intellectual property assets for start-ups.
HH Sayyid Bilarab also visited the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), which is the world's leading laboratory for particle physics.
The CERN provides specialized programs to transform challenges into entrepreneurial opportunities and startups through the incubation programs implemented by the organisation.
During the visit, aspects of cooperation between the CERN and the Programme for Promising Omani Start-ups were reviewed.
HH Sayyid Bilarab also visited Campus Biotech, which is one of the leading centres in providing the latest innovations, technologies and laboratories in the field of bioenergy. It also provides specialized business incubators for start-ups and training programmes to support entrepreneurial projects and link them to global markets.
The potential of implementing joint programmes between the center and the Programme for Promising Omani Start-ups was discussed during the visit.
HH Sayyid Bilarab was accompanied during the visit by Qais Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Halima Rashid Al Zar’ee, Chairperson of the Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ASMED) and Idris Abdulrahman Al Khanjari, Permanent Representative of the Sultanate of Oman to the United Nations (UN) and International Organisations in Geneva.
The accompanying delegation also comprised owners of Omani start-ups whose business is based on innovation and technology and working teams from various government units.
