Muscat, May 15, 2012 – AMIDEAST President and CEO Theodore H. Kattouf marked the five-year anniversary of AMIDEAST’s presence in Oman with a visit to Muscat, beginning May 11, 2012. During his four-day stay, he met with officials of Oman’s Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education and signed the renewal of the American education organization’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education. He also participated in a variety of meetings focused on AMIDEAST’s workforce development and entrepreneurship training programs.

AMIDEAST President and CEO Theodore Kattouf (left) and Dr. Madeeha bint Ahmed al Shaibaniyah of Oman’s Ministry of Education sign the Memorandum of Understanding.

“AMIDEAST is honored to have been invited by the Omani government to open an office here in 2007, establishing itself as the first international nongovernmental, nonprofit organization in the Sultanate,” said Ambassador Kattouf.  “Since opening our doors, we have served thousands of Omanis through services ranging from English language courses to scholarship administration. We look forward to broadening our outreach and our impact as we seek to expand opportunity through education and training.”

With the signing of the original MoU in 2007, AMIDEAST became the first international nongovernmental organization to have a full legal presence in the Sultanate. Since then AMIDEAST/Oman has provided the range of educational and training services that are the hallmarks of AMIDEAST’s operations across the Middle East and North Africa, including English language instruction, professional skills training, test preparation, scholarship and exchange program.  administration, and educational advising and testing.  During his visit, Amb. Kattouf explored ways of expanding educational and training opportunities for Omanis in a variety of areas.

Founded in 1951, AMIDEAST (www.amideast.org) is an American nonprofit organization engaged in international education, training, and development assistance. With over 20 field and project offices in the Middle East and North Africa and more than 650 dedicated professional staff, AMIDEAST provides programs and services to improve educational opportunity and quality, strengthen local institutions, and develop language and professional skills for success in the global economy. AMIDEAST is deeply committed to strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa.

For more information, please contact AMIDEAST/Oman at +968-2456-1727 or oman@amideast.org