Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman hosted a reading competition in the Arabic language for university Japanese students on Tuesday under the patronage of Ambassador Dr. Mohamed bin Saeed Al Busaidi.

Ambassador Al Busaidi welcomed the attendees and encouraged the students to continue their efforts in studying the language, which brings Japanese and Arab culture in general – and Omani culture in particular – closer together.

The event was held with the participation of the embassies of Syria, Sudan, Palestine, Bahrain and Morocco.

Thirty students from eight Japanese universities and institutes competed by reading poetry clips from several Arab poets, most prominent among them being Nizar Qabbani, Fadwa Touqan, Badr Shaker Al-Siyab and Ahmed Shawqi.

The Syrian Charge de affairs, Mohamed Najib Elgi, stressed the importance of participating in the second edition of this cultural event to celebrate Arabic Language Day. The Syrian Embassy organized the first edition last year in cooperation with Tokyo University for Foreign Studies.

He said they want to make the competition an annual tradition, contributing to the spread of the Arabic language in Japan, which, in turn, will strengthen ties between the Arab and Japanese peoples.

The level displayed by the Japanese students and the ability of some of them to convey poetic expression was outstanding, the ambassadors agreed.

Dr. Hiroyuki Oyama and Dr. Khaldon Hussein from Tokyo University for Foreign Studies were instrumental in organizing the event.

At the end of the event, Awards of Excellence were distributed with the participating embassies presenting appreciative awards to the winners.