(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Oman's pavilion titled Nurturing Marine Wealth' won the gold at Yeosu Expo 2012, beating 105 participating countries. The pavilion was visited by over 500,000 people. The three-month long expo being held in South Korea is all set to conclude on Sunday.
''The Yeosu expo management on Saturday, announced the top pavilions and Oman was adjudged the gold winner among all other pavilions. The concluding ceremony will be held on Sunday,'' an official from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (MECA), said.
Oman's pavilion occupies 786sq m space and showcases the nation's heritage and other attractions. Six sections showcase Oman's role in preserving marine wealth and its natural resources. Touchscreens provide visitors information on Oman's marine history and culture, its present, its strategies to protect marine wealth and the threats to it. Further, the pavilion's facade is based on the architecture of the historic Sohar castle.
Traditional miniatures of an Al Ghanja vessel, the entrance of the old districts of the Wilayat of Muttrah, and the traditional Areesh made of date palm fronds were also displayed at the pavilion. Another big attraction is the 44-seat 4D movie theatre equipped with hi-tech sound and music system.
The concluding ceremony will be attended by the South Korean president and several world leaders. Oman will be represented by Mohsin bin Khamees al Balushi, an advisor at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the commissioner general of the Omani pavilion at the expo, along with H E Mohammed bin Salem al Harthy, the sultanate's Ambassador to South Korea, and Ali bin Amer al Kiyumi, director-general of environment protection at MECA.
Balushi said the number of visitors to Oman's pavilion might reach 517,000 by Sunday. ''Altogether 7.6mn people visited the Yeosu Expo till last week. The organisers and evaluation committees have appreciated the sultanate pavilion's participation.''
Last week, the Omani pavilion received its 500,000th visitor, Hwang Chang-soon, a Korean. Kiyumi, handed over a commemorative gift to the visitor.
The participation has put Oman on the world map and has given it an opportunity to discuss various international and regional issues on the subject with Korea and other participating countries, eventually achieving political goal
