The penultimate day of the year offers a chance to reflect on the positives and approach the upcoming year, 2025, with confidence, ready to build on those achievements.
Globally, 2024 was another year of political achievements and uncertainties as Donald Trump made a strong comeback in the US presidential elections with landslide results, surprising all pollsters and analysts.
The Middle East conflict expanded from Gaza to Iran and Lebanon to end the year with some dramatic developments in Syria. Russia and Ukraine continue with no winners in sight, and closed the year with some civilian air travellers losing their lives in the crossfires.
But in the Sultanate of Oman, it was not that gloomy, despite having had the tragic incident of schoolchildren losing lives in floods, with the country recording budget surplus for straight years and inflation ranked among the lowest in the world.
Technically, announced in late 2023, the year also saw the Social Protection Fund (SPF) benefits being extended to children and the elderly. The elderly get a monthly payment of RO 115 per month if the person fulfils the conditions mentioned in the Social Protection Law, while each child, below 18 years, gets RO 10 per month.
Another important part of the Social Protection Law was that mandatory maternity leave benefits were provided to Omani and expatriate workforce in both private and public sectors.
Women are also entitled to 98 days of maternity leave, with the option to take up to 14 days before the expected birth date. Men are entitled to seven days of paternity leave.
The good news for the economy is that global credit rating agency Moody’s upgraded its outlook on the Government of Oman to ‘positive’ from ‘stable', while affirming Oman’s Ba1 long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings based on the ongoing improvement in the government’s debt metrics, supported by elevated oil prices and prudent fiscal management.
Standard & Poor’s upgraded rating from BB+ to BBB- with a stable outlook, reflecting the improved financial performance of the country, while recently Fitch Ratings revised the outlook from stable to positive.
Not to mention the progress in digital payments with the launch of Apple Pay and Samsung Pay and the rapid acceptance of mobile payments (phone number and QRs). The focus on digital transformation is evident in all spheres, especially with most of the ROP and Ministry of Health services going online.
There has been progress on cable car and railway projects, and we can just hope there will be more updates coming in the new year.
In the end, we cannot miss the launch of the Duqm-1 rocket, which was successfully carried out. This launch signifies a transformative moment for Oman as it embarks on a journey to become a leading player in the growing space industry.
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