Oman is attempting to diversify its economy beyond oil resources, which has been its main engine for growth for many decades.
The Omani government has laid out its plan in Oman Vision 2040, a road map that seeks to improve various socio-economic areas in the country by implementing a broad set of regulatory and bureaucratic reforms.
The roadmap document, which can be accessed on the government’s official website, sets 13 areas as national priorities, including economic diversification and fiscal sustainability as well as the labor market and employment.
“[…] there’s a need to change, from an economy depending on oil and gas, into a more diversified economy,” said Abdullah bin Salem Al-Salmi, head of the Oman 2040 economy and development committee at a press briefing on Monday in Muscat.
In a two-day conference in Muscat starting on Sunday, the Omani public and private stakeholders as well as foreign experts exchanged their ideas to complement the road map formula, which will be drafted into a five-year plan from 2021 to 2025.
The result of the upcoming five-year plan would be a stepping stone for reaching the goals laid out in the 2040 vision, said Talal bin Sulaiman Al-Rahbi, chairman of the Oman 2040 future vision technical committee.
“After the conference, working groups will sit [together] and give feedback, and formulate the final [road map] document,” said Al-Rahbi, who is also a deputy secretary-general of the Omani Supreme Council for Planning.
