Muscat: The 2024 Governorates Economics Forum kicked off at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre on Wednesday under the auspices of His Highness Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham bin Tarik al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth. The forum, organised by the Ministry of Economy, discussed the current state of development in the governorates, work programs and strategic visions aimed at expanding the horizons of local development economically and socially and overcoming challenges.
The forum witnessed the launch of two new initiatives to support local development in the Sultanate of Oman.
First was the unveiling of a Governorates Competitiveness Index: A strategic tool for directing investments and identifying development priorities, which contributes to ensuring the achievement of the Oman Vision 2040 goals aimed at strengthening the national economy and maximizing the economic and social impact of development projects.
Additionally, a tourism initiative was announced, aimed at revitalizing and supporting the tourism sector in the governorates, with an allocation of RO 15 million for the year 2025 to finance the best projects that support the tourism sector in the governorates.
The forum brought together all strategic partners from the government and private sectors, experts and civil society institutions, with the aim of enhancing community participation in formulating strategies and identifying future prospects in line with the priorities of the Governorates Development Programme.
Speaking at the forum, Dr Said Mohammed al Saqri, Minister of Economy, said the new Governorates Competitive Index will provide a comprehensive picture of the development performance of each governorate, identifying opportunities and challenges, enhancing transparency, and supporting decision makers in developing development policies and plans based on accurate and reliable data. This indicator will be used to evaluate the results achieved and measure performance through a set of standards and sub-indices that cover various aspects - economic, social, infrastructure, education, health and other vital sectors.
The Governorates Economic Forum, he said, has been organised with a goal to enhance decentralization and develop the governorates in line with the ambitions of Oman’s future vision and the objectives of the tenth five-year plan. These ambitions support economic diversification, expand the streams of growth, and find sustainable sources for generating job opportunities by enhancing the performance of the economic diversification sectors, he stated.
The Ministry of Economy, after adopting the tenth five-year plan, created the “Governorate Development Programme” project, which came in implementation of the Royal Directives of His Majesty the Sultan to allocate RO 20 million to each governorate during the years of the current five-year plan (2021-2025), starting in 2022.
Dr Al Saqri stressed that financing local development is an essential pillar in empowering the governorates and promoting decentralization, and the allocations stipulated by the Royal Directives have contributed to creating a shift in the number and quality of new projects in the governorates. A clause has also been added in the state’s general budget for annual allocations to support the implementation of projects with a development impact. This has had a direct impact on improving the lives of citizens in all governorates and achieving their socioeconomic well-being, he stated.
The tenth five-year plan, he stressed, witnessed a significant increase in the number of projects that were implemented and are being implemented between the years 2021 and 2023 in various governorates. As many as 606 projects were undertaken during this period, encompassing the development and beautification of tourist sites, waterfronts and commercial areas, support for youth projects, developing markets, parks, and sports trails, and establishing arenas for festivals and exhibitions.
He voiced hope that the strategic investment programmes in the tenth five-year plan will contribute to the establishment of integrated economic clusters in 5 governorates, advance urban development, spur the growth of future smart cities and drive sustainable mobility.
Three dialogue sessions were also held with a focus on prospects for sustainable development, decentralization, digital transformation and investment in the governorates. The second session focused on community participation and successful development experiences in the governorates.
The forum was accompanied by an exhibition entitled "Governorates Development Experiences and Successful Project Models", which reviewed the trends of the Governorates Development Programme towards exploiting the competitive advantages of the governorates, the most important major strategic projects in the governorates, the progress rates of projects under implementation, and the most important future projects planned in the governorates.
In the forum, three dialogue sessions were held that dealt with the reality and prospects of local development in the Sultanate of Oman and the possibilities that enhance the strategic direction towards decentralization.
The ministerial dialogue session, titled “Sustainable Development of the Governorates”, featured Dr Said al Saqri, Minister of Economy, Dr Khalfan al Shuaili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, Sayyid Ibrahim bin Saeed al Busaidi, Governor of Musandam, and Dr Rula Dashti, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCWA.
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