His Majesty chairs Council of Ministers meeting
His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik today presided over a meeting of the Council of Ministers at Al Barakah Palace.
His Majesty began the meeting by giving thanks and praise to the Almighty Allah for the bounties of security and stability that He has bestowed on Oman and its people. He prayed to the Almighty to perpetuate these bounties and blessings on all citizens and residents on Oman’s lands, wishing all good health and wellbeing.
His Majesty then reviewed domestic conditions. He commended the accomplishments made during 2023 and expressed his satisfaction with the continuous improvement in financial, economic and social performance indicators. He said it was important for all government departments to continue efforts to upgrade their performance.
Demonstrating his keenness to follow up on the evaluation of the performance of government institutions in 2023, His Majesty noted an improvement in performance that promises the realisation of goals, visions and aspirations.
His Majesty underscored the importance of authorities improving their assessment of all indicators during 2024. He called on them to study areas of strength and weakness, to determine the best ways to address potential challenges.
His Majesty commended the efforts made by government institutions to perform the tasks entrusted to them, especially the those that received an ‘excellent' or ‘high' performance evaluation.
His Majesty also praised the role of the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) in meeting the Sultanate's needs for statistics and information. He said government departments should use data provided by the NCSI for planning, decision-making, evaluating government programmes and projects and measuring the impact of policies and plans to determine their effectiveness and gauge progress in achieving the desired goals.
With regard to the implementation of the social protection scheme in 2024, His Majesty the Sultan stressed the importance of monitoring the system’s performance and all its programmes. He gave directives to evaluate its performance in addressing social and economic developments, with a special emphasis on studying citizens' needs, particularly those that rely on the social protection system.
The Council of Ministers directed the authorities concerned to prepare a national policy with the aim of reducing imports and increasing exports. The Council endorsed the “National Policy for Local Content (2024-2030)”, which aims to develop a national system for regulating and monitoring local content in all sectors.
In this context, His Majesty stressed the importance of cutting down the volume of foreign purchases to secure a surplus in the country’s trade balance, with a focus on key goals, such as generating more job opportunities for citizens, localising industries, supporting entrepreneurs, and encouraging startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
To promote the culture of local content in society and support Omani products, the Council of Ministers approved the “National Product Loyalty Programme,” which seeks to encourage consumers to buy Omani products and enhance the growth of local companies.
The Council of Ministers stressed the importance of governors focusing on tourist sites in their respective governorates and developing plans for tourism activities and events to attract visitors throughout the year and so make the most of the diversity of the governorates of Oman and its natural attractions, history and cultural heritage,
His Majesty the Sultan gave directives to set a timeframe for developing “Al Jabal Al Abyad” area and “Wakan” village in order to enhance the role of the tourism sector in boosting the gross domestic product (GDP), to generate local added value and to provide employment opportunities for citizens. This is to include providing the necessary infrastructure and appropriate conditions for the development of the two areas as tourist attractions and major destinations for trips, camping and adventure tourism.
His Majesty gave directives to review the roles of the authorities operating in the area of food safety, in order to integrate these roles and so ensure the effectiveness of relevant procedures. This will take place within the context of the Council of Ministers’ attention to food safety and related legislation, and to executive procedures aimed at ensuring the production, import, export, circulation and consumption of food products that are safe for consumers.
Pursuing the general trend of streamlining procedures, the business environment and the competitiveness of the national economy, the Council of Ministers approved the results of the third phase of the draft pricing guide for government services. This includes cancelling, reducing, simplifying and merging 411 fees. The Council also approved a proposal for the reduction of drinking water connection service fees for residential and non-residential units.
Reviewing relations with Arab and friendly countries, His Majesty said that the visits and meetings that took place recently had produced good results. In this context, he stressed Oman’s keenness to continue cooperating with all, in accordance with the principles and constants of the Sultanate's foreign policy.
At the conclusion of the meeting, His Majesty touched on various matters of concern to the nation and citizens and gave directives in this regard. He wished all Oman and its loyal citizens continued success and progress.
This is an unofficial English version of an Arabic report. To view the official Arabic text, click here.