RESTRICTED H Duckworth Esq BBC Arabic Service BBC Bush House Strand LONDON WC2 PBM 5/505/1 RECEIVED IN REGISTRY No 35 19 DEC 1975 16 December 1975 THE SULTAN OF OMAN'S VIEWS ON THE BBC ARABIC SERVICE You will wish to know that in the course of his discussions with the Secretary of State in Oman the Sultan remarked that it was very unsatisfactory that the BBC Arabic Service Programme "Around the Arab Worla" did not come on in Oman until 12.45 am. This programme, the Sultan said, was very popular among Omanis, including himself, but listening to it involved them in serious loss of sleep. The Sultan wondered whether it might be advanced to a more reasonable hour. I feel sure you will have heard this complaint before. The answer, I suppose, is that the programme must go out in the late evening if it is to contain a comprehensive round up of news from the Arab World; and Oman, on GMT + 4, is bound to receive it at an ungodly hour. It is encouraging that the programme is so popular in Oman. I have frequently heard it praised elsewhere in the Arab World; indeed, many Arabs, as I think you will agree, regard it as just about the best thing the Arabic Service puts out: no Arab or foreign broadcasting station, I am told, has such a wide ranging and objective news review. In view of this, I wonder whether it might be possible to advance the programme even by half an hour to cater particularly for listeners in GMT + 4 and perhaps, in so doing, make it more popular in the other time zones as well. MS Buckmaster Guidance & Information Policy Department RESTRICTED
