Ambassador and Mrs. Schmierer, with AMIDEAST Country Director Sarah Jackson (left) and EducationUSA Advisor Salim Al-Badi (right).

Ambassador and Mrs. Schmierer Visit AMIDEAST
October 5,2009

On Monday, October 5, Ambassador Richard J. Schmierer, accompanied by Mrs. Schmierer, made an introductory visit to AMIDEAST, the U.S. educational organization that is a major partner with the U.S. Embassy in a range of projects promoting exchanges between the Sultanate and the United States, as well as helping students in Oman learn more about U.S. higher education.  They were met  by AMIDEAST Oman’s Country Director, Sarah M. Jackson, toured the facility, and had the chance to learn more about the work the Embassy and AMIDEAST are carrying out together.

Active throughout the region, and with offices in 13 countries, in Oman AMIDEAST manages important exchanges including Fulbright Foreign Student Program, which gives Omanis the opportunity to carry out graduate-level programs in the U.S. and the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program, which sends high-school age students to the U.S. for two semesters of study at an American school.  As of this fall, AMIDEAST is also the Embassy’s partner in YES Abroad, which has for the first time brought American teenagers to Oman to live and study for one semester.

AMIDEAST is also the Embassy’s partner in highlighting the range and quality of American colleges and universities through EducationUSA, which provides advising, information, and support to students hoping to study in the U.S. 

AMIDEAST and the Embassy also collaborate on programs that support the enhancement of English-language teaching in Oman, that reach out to Omani youth, and that provide networking to alumni of programs organized under the auspices of the U.S. Government’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).