Recent plans by the two countries to rejuvenate the architecture of Muscat Street along traditional Omani lines received a boost yesterday with the inking of a Memorandum of Intent to develop the street.

The idea is to bring a little of the real Muscat - the Omani capital - to the historic road behind the Sultan Mosque in the Arab Street area.

A flavour of Oman will be evident in the architecture and the lighting, for instance, and also in the street life.

Re-enacting the story of Sinbad the sailor and his legendary voyages is one possibility. The birthplace of Sinbad is the small fishing port of Sohar in Oman.

Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed told reporters: 'More than infrastructure, we also hope to bring in cultural groups.

'We will bring Muscat Street to life.'

The memorandum was signed by him and Oman's secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sayyid Bedr Al-Busaidi.

Oman has a long civilisation and rich culture. Singapore and the sultanate are mindful of the wealth of cultural links that may be formed, partly because the Republic has a long-time connection to the region through Singaporeans of Arab descent.

Read the full story in today's edition of The Straits Times.