as a result of a speech delivered there by a Bermudian lawyer this month at an international investment conference.

Senior partner at Milligan-Whyte & Smith, Government Sen. Lynda Milligan-Whyte spoke last week at the conference, "Investment Horizons in Oman'' in the Omani capital of Muscat last week.

Her speech gave a general overview of investor protection regulations in Securities Markets. The Senator is a council member of the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

The conference attracted about 300 businessmen, investors and investment portfolio managers and was described in the Oman Daily Observer as "perhaps the most crucial meeting in the context of Oman's economy''.

The conference comes as the country is trying to make foreign investment easier through amended legislation is being amended and continuing privatisation efforts.

The country is rich in natural gas and oil and is a very stable country, politically, she said.

"What impressed me the most was that here is a Moslem country that is opening up to the world,'' she said. "It is one of the first that I have seen, which is saying to foreign people, `Invest in our country'.

"They are liberalising their regulations and laws in order to permit that to happen. They were very liberal and very open, as opposed to being closed and internal oriented. The country is very open and they are looking outward.

"They are looking at what trends are taking place in the global marketplace and seeing where Oman can fit within that.'' Sen. Milligan-Whyte said that the whole purpose of the conference was to allow the Oman Government to communicate to the world how the country was changing and that foreign investors, foreign skills and technology were welcomed in an effort to help them diversify the economy.

Her recent resumption of duties for Government in the Upper House occurred only after she had been invited to the conference, and she conceded that led her to further opportunities.

"When they realised that I was now a Senator, I was able to meet all of the Government people invited to the conference and attend various functions with them, which gave me a tremendous opportunity to market Bermuda.

"I was sitting next to the Minister for Trade and Commerce and he told me that they were having the conference because they wanted to get the message to the international banking community that they were opening up.

"I recommended that Bermuda would be an ideal location to host a conference at which North American bankers can be invited to attend. He thought it was a good idea.

"I made a proposal for a joint securities conference involving the Muscat Securities Market along with the Bermuda Stock Exchange. And we could invite investment bankers from North America and Europe. He said it was a good idea and he would work on achieving it.

"It's a tremendous feather for Bermuda's cap if we can help a country that is considered to be an emerging market to fully develop.'' In response to questions posed during the conference, Senator Milligan-Whyte described Bermuda's universal banking system, which impeded the growth of the Island's capital markets, until further banking diversification that brought brokerage firms and investment bankers here. She said that it was only then that there was fuller development of a capital market.

"Oman is going through a similar process. Their banks are universal banks.

They do everything. They are now shifting and permitting brokerage firms and investment banks to set up there.

"So they are using Bermuda as a model,'' she said. "Because Bermuda has been so successful in controlling it international banking image, they want to use that as a model.

"They will hopefully come to Bermuda for a visit, and that was the reason why a joint conference was an attractive idea.'' Sen. Milligan-Whyte was invited to meet officials of the Central Bank of Oman, the banking regulators. They wanted to pick her brains on how Bermuda regulated international business and banks.

Senator speaks at Oman conference the Central Bank of Oman sought to retain Milligan-Whyte & Smith to advise them on international banking matters.

On the more human side, the senator remarked: "It is unbelievable how there is so much emphasis on the family. In all advertisements you see family settings. It's like the whole emphasis of the country is on family activities.

"The second thing is that at the conference there were six rows reserved for students. Every day hundreds of students were coming to the conference. It showed that the Government is totally committed to educating their population.

"Some of the students had to use headsets that provided instant translation from the conference's English language to Arabic. I was really impressed. That is something that I would like to get going here, students in attendance regularly at business conferences.

"The Government there set up the Career Development Foundation Of Oman (who, together with the Muscat Securities Market, jointly sponsored the investment conference) that organises such things, showing them career options.'' Senator Milligan-Whyte was first introduced to Oman through, Bermuda Commercial Bank chairman, Mr. John Deuss. The oil magnate is the president of Oman Oil Company Ltd. the Sultanate of Oman's overseas oil corporation, in addition to being president of Transworld Oil here in Bermuda.