Muscat – To showcase the culture and gastronomical delights along with business and investment opportunities, the Embassy of France in Oman on Tuesday started month-long celebrations branded as ‘French Weeks’.

The series of events – that will take place in various venues including the embassy premises, hotels and schools – will end on March 21.

Addressing a press conference at the embassy, French Ambassador H E Véronique Aulagnon said, “This is the fifth edition of the French Weeks and we are delighted to present to Oman the various cultural, sports, business delights of France to Oman.”

The flagship annual event, she said, aims at promoting France in Oman and at enhancing French-Omani cooperation.

“It consists in a series of events, covering all the fields: Business, tourism, gastronomy, culture, education, sports. All these events are free of charge, and many of them open to everyone.”

Unlike previous ones, the Ambassador pointed out that the 2023 edition is longer, wider and more intense.

“Longer: Instead of one week, the French Weeks will last for almost a month. This length reflects the scaling up of French-Omani cooperation after the pandemics, building on a strong legacy build over centuries. Wider: New areas will be covered this year, such as tourism, sports and higher education, in addition to our regular cultural, business and gastronomy components.”

The celebration began at 7pm on Tuesday with the opening of a photo exhibition ‘Waliorejea’ by the French documentarist photographer and videographer Ania Gruca at Bait Muzna Gallery, under the auspices of H E Mohammed bin Nasser al Wahaibi, Undersecretary for Administration and Financial Affairs in the Foreign Ministry.

Ania Gruca’s work on human ties between the Sultanate of Oman and Zanzibar will be displayed at Bait Muzna until March 21, the embassy said.

On March 5, ‘Salon France-Oman’ – a thematic discussion around the theme ‘Women in arts’ will be held in connection with the International Women’s Day which falls on March 8.

The embassy will jointly host a business conference together with the Omani French Friendship Association at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Muscat on March 6.

An event named ‘Marhaba France-Spain’ will be held on March 7 and 8, to promote France as the Number One destination in the world to the GCC audience.

The Residency of the France will host a festive evening entitled ‘Goût de France/Taste of France’ on March 9, while on March 12, giant frescoes performer Saype will deliver a conference at the French-Omani Centre.

The embassy will be part of the operation ‘Relay around the world’ on March 14, to celebrate the D-500 before the opening ceremony of Paris Olympic Games 2024.

‘Night of francophonie’ will be held on March 20, at 7pm at the French-Omani Centre to screen a collection of short films from Francophone countries.

The month-long celebrations will culminate on March 21 with a thrilling concert that will mingle the cultural inspirations of the Breton wooden flute player Erwan Hamon and the Palestinian oud and percussions lover Yousef Zayed.