Sheikh Faisal becomes Austria’s first honorary consul in Oman

Sheikh Faisal Al Hashar was appointed the first honorary Austrian consul in Oman on Monday.

He is also the Chairman of the Rural Area Electricity Company, Deputy Chairman of Electricity Holdings Co (NAMA Group) and Chairman of the Board of Taageer Finance Company.

An honorary consul is a person designated by the government of a country to look after the affairs of its citizens in another nation.

They are not official personnel but tend to be citizens of the host countries who have ties with the recipient nation.

Their responsibilities include handling issues like visas and trade.

The ceremony was held under the auspices of Mohammed bin Yousef al Zarafi, Undersecretary for Administrative and Financial Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and attended by Austrian citizens, local government officials, businesspersons and other Honorary Consuls of the European Union.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador from Austria to Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen Gregor W. Koessler said Austria warmly welcomed the opportunity to open the first Austrian Honorary Consulate in Muscat.

Koessler praised Hashar as a highly respected personality and thanked His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, for granting the permission needed to confirm the appointment.

“He is not just an able person. He is also a humble person. Finding a suitable person for this job was both easy and difficult. Easy because one looks for a person with social capital, ability and so forth. But it is difficult because one has to find the right fit. And I’m glad to say that we found Sheikh Hashar,” Koessler said.

This was followed by Koessler presiding over the oath-taking ceremony for Hashar to accept the office of the Austrian Honorary Consul in Oman.

Hashar then gave a short speech, saying: “I value this position as a further milestone in the enhancement and strengthening of the relationship between Oman and Austria.”

Hashar has a BSc degree in marketing from North West Missouri State University, USA. His career spans over 35 years in both public and private sectors.