OCCI hails special incentives for the private sector

Muscat: His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik chaired a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Salalah on Thursday and reviewed several topics.

To push forward initiatives that will build confidence in the local economy and provide an attractive environment for investors, the Council of Ministers allocated an additional RO 50 million to enhance the jobseekers' employment program in the private sector.

The Council of Ministers also endorsed the addition (to the employment program) of 1.2 percent of purchase invoices collected from the sectors of oil and gas, government units, and companies affiliated with the Oman Investment Authority (OIA).

The authorities concerned shall devise clear-cut procedures and terms to ensure the sustainability of opportunities that would be generated.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Faisal bin Abdullah al Rawas, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI),

appreciated the decisions taken during the Council of Ministers meeting in Salalah, which reflected the keenness of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to create an attractive environment that helps stimulate various economic sectors.

The OCCI chairman said the Cabinet’s approval to allocate an additional amount of RO50 million riyals to support programs for employing job seekers in the private sector, in addition to the amounts collected at a rate of (1.2%) of the value of purchase invoices for each of the oil and gas sector, government units and companies affiliated with the Oman Investment Authority, reflects the extent to which the employment represents a national priority, along with the keenness to enable the private sector to play its role as a main employer of national cadres.

This support for employment programs complements the initiatives approved by the government to reflect the depth of the partnership between the public and private sectors in this file.

He said the cabinet’s approval of the National Program for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Digital Technologies and the implementation of its projects and initiatives to enhance the productivity of economic and development sectors will increase and empower emerging technology companies specialized in developing local solutions in this field.