Vision 2040 Follow-up Unit releases annual report

Muscat: Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit on Tuesday issued the third annual report. The report’s methodology focuses on the actual performance of government institutions and the efforts made in various economic and developmental sectors during 2023 in addition to evaluating their role in achieving the goals of “Oman Vision 2040” and the indicators endorsed by the Vision.

This report reflects the existing partnership between Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit and other government agencies, coinciding with the fourth year of “Oman Vision 2040” in January 2024, as the Sultanate of Oman has achieved a remarkable progress in diverse global indicators.

Dr Khamis Saif al Jabri, Chairman of Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit said that the issuance of the third annual report comes as an extension of the annual reports issued by the unit, especially the first and second annual reports issued in 2022 and 2023.

He added that issuing the third report comes as part of Unit’s communication strategy to highlight the efforts made by various government institutions to implement their programmes, initiatives and projects emanating from Oman Vision 2040.

Al Jabri explained that the annual report represents monitoring and documentation of the progress in the executive path of the works of these entities and linking these works to the objectives of Oman Vision 2040.

He added that the improvement in the government's economic and financial performance was reflected in its ability to cut down debt and ameliorate the gross domestic product (GDP), as well as the remarkable improvement achieved in the credit rating of the Sultanate of Oman by credit rating agencies.

Al Jabri affirmed that "this improvement would not have been achieved without the political will and executive competence that maintained the persistent efforts in managing this vital file without disrupting the path of economic and social development, especially in the field of public services that directly touch the lives of citizens”.

He highlighted the tireless efforts and close cooperation shown by various government institutions to develop their work mechanisms and adopt methodologies that were developed in coordination and cooperation with Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit. Collaboration of efforts aim to ensure work according to the highest standards and best international practices, and to adopt effective governance frameworks that ensure good implementation, smooth procedures, and strict follow-up, support and escalation paths, starting from the lowest levels of implementation, all the way to the sectoral committees in the Council of Ministers and His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik.

Al Jabri explained that the efforts made by the Unit in cooperation with the competent government institutions in the field of building and developing national capabilities resulted in the establishment of more than 60 offices for Oman Vision 2040 in various government agencies to serve as a nucleus for transferring knowledge and expertise and to ensure the sustainability of follow-up and support by the Unit for the departments concerned with implementation.

He pointed out that the approved performance cards of government institutions represent an institutional reference document for driving the executive path of these agencies in their quest to achieve the Vision’s goals, through which progress in implementing programmes, initiatives and projects can be monitored and measured periodically.

Al Jabri expressed his thanks to all workers in the various national sectors and praised their achievements in various economic, social, cultural and environmental fields, which had an impact on the progress of the Sultanate of Oman in many international indicators.

The Chairman of the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit stated that the national efforts made by various sectors come at an important and critical stage full of opportunities and challenges and in light of global variables that have their repercussions on the global economy and national economies.

The report reviewed the priority of “Education, Learning, Research and National Capabilities” and the efforts of the state’s administrative apparatus units, private schools, colleges and universities, and private sector companies to achieve this priority by improving the quality of school and higher education and raising the level of outputs; to develop the educational system at all levels to prepare graduates with competitive skills that meet the requirements of the labour market and build a knowledge economy.

The report indicated that the efforts made in this priority for 2023 included auditing the quality of 65 government and private higher education institutions within the institutional accreditation programme, funding 314 research projects for researchers from 26 research and academic institutions, and implementing many programmes and projects by the public and private sectors in the scientific research and innovation system.

Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) also improved in the QS rankings for 2025, rising from 454th to 362nd after falling in the past two years. The university’s index value increased from 25.2 for 2024 to 31.7 for 2025, while Sohar University entered the rankings as the first private Omani university, paving the way for inclusion in the top 500 universities in the future.

As for the priority of “Health”, the report highlighted the most prominent efforts made by all parties concerned, which seek to develop a global health system characterised by decentralisation, quality, transparency and accountability, while enhancing scientific research and health innovation, and providing high-quality preventive and therapeutic services to build a sustainable healthy society.

Under the priority of “citizenship, identity, heritage and national culture”, Oman Vision 2040 seeks to enhance citizenship, identity, heritage and national culture to build a society that is proud of its identity and culture and committed to its citizenship, while preserving the cultural heritage and openness to the modern era.

The priority of “Social Welfare and Protection” aims to build an effective and sustainable social safety network with a focus on empowering women, children, youth, people with disabilities and the most needy groups. The objectives include providing integrated social protection and enhancing partnerships between the public, private and civil society sectors.

The Sultanate of Oman has achieved a remarkable leap in the Youth Development Index compared to its last rating in 2020, as its ranking rose to 33rd globally in 2023, advancing 19 places from its previous ranking. This improvement reflects the Sultanate of Oman’s achievement of one of the main goals of Oman Vision 2040 to reach the target value of the index by 2030.

The priority of “Economic Leadership and Management” focuses on building Omani leaderships capable of directing the economy towards broader prospects in line with national priorities and strategic approaches, especially in the theme of economy and development. This aims to create renewed and efficient senior managements capable of dealing with rapid changes in the market and future expectations through an effective and empowered economic performance system that keeps pace with local and global changes.

The priority of the "Labour Market and Employment" focuses on improving the sector to increase its attractiveness to national competencies and enhance employment opportunities and stability of Omani workers in the private sector. The main objectives include developing the legislative system, improving institutional management, monitoring global developments in the field of future jobs and developing workers' skills. These efforts are expected to contribute to raising the efficiency of the labour market and ameliorating the rate of Omanization and productivity, with a focus on enhancing national expertise and capabilities.

Regarding the indicators of the Promising Omani Startups Programme (POSP), as many as 116 innovation and technology based start-ups were established, while the number of beneficiaries from the idea generation phase reached 1,920 ideas, and the number of start-ups benefiting from the investment facilitation programme reached 30 companies, while the number of beneficiaries from the training camps reached 500 beneficiaries.

As for the priority of “Developing Sustainable Governorates and Cities”, Oman Vision 2040 focuses on achieving comprehensive and balanced development among all governorates of the Sultanate of Oman, by directing investments towards establishing smart cities and developing governorates, while applying the principle of administrative and economic decentralization.

While the priority of “Environment and Natural Resources” is a starting point for achieving the goals of the environmental sector in the Sultanate of Oman, which contributes to supporting and stimulating the economy by moving towards a green economy, diversifying non-traditional energy sources, achieving food and water security, and spreading environmental awareness to guide society towards the optimal use of natural resources and preserving all elements of the environment.

The Sultanate of Oman achieved a qualitative leap in the Environmental Performance Index for 2024, as it rose 95 ranks to reach the 54th globally (and the second in the Arab world) compared to the 149th global ranking in 2022.

The priority of “Legislation, Judiciary and Oversight” aims to have an efficient, fair and specialized judiciary that employs future technologies with flexible legislation, an independent legislative authority and an effective and transparent oversight system that combats corruption. The priority emphasizes the role of the oversight media and a legally aware society that participates in legislation and oversight.

Under the priority of “Governance of the State Administrative Apparatus, Resources and Projects,” Oman Vision 2040 seeks to build a flexible and innovative administrative apparatus. The most prominent performance indicators of the government digital transformation programme in 2023 include achieving 53 per cent in overall performance, with an improvement in institutional performance and digital transformation as the average performance of government institutions in achieving the requirements of government digital transformation reached 72 per cent.