Sunday 20 / July / 2025
Muscat: As a new move to strengthen the partnership between the public and private sectors, which has received great attention from His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Oman Business Forum opened at Oasis Club on Wednesday.
The forum, being organised by the Diwan of Royal Court, was opened under the auspices of Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court.
While delivering the opening speech, Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court said that the Forum aims at giving a macro picture about PPP.
He pointed out that the forum covers a number of themes that stress His Majesty the Sultan’s blessing and support for PPP. The Forum will also review the progress made in implementing the outputs of the partnership team with relation to improving business environment and leaderships in public organisations.
The participants will highlight the important role played by the private sector in the development process and the aspirations towards bigger and growing role.
He noted that PPP has been accorded with great interest from His Majesty the Sultan as the socio-economic development relies on the accumulation of all community potentials, including the capacities, resources and expertise available in the public and private sectors.
He pointed out that the launching of the public and private partnership team comes in response to the Royal Orders of His Majesty in April 2013. The team, guided by the Royal Directives, has made much headway in activating the private sector’s role in the comprehensive development process.
He affirmed that PPP, a trend of the state, aims at achieving and enhancing the development process. Thanks to His Majesty’s continuous care, the team has achieved the aims that were set to them by adopting a four-pronged parallel approach that enhances the common platforms for dialogue among private and public sectors and enhancing their mutual confidence.
The second theme focused on the national initiatives for building capacities in private and public sectors, he said. To this end, the National CEOs Programme ‘has been launched to develop the expertise of trainees. The National Leadership and Competitiveness Programme was also launched to improve the skills of undersecretaries and executive managers to help them provide a conducive work environment for PPP and enhance competitiveness in the Sultanate.
He added that the third theme focuses on enhancing business environment. The representatives of the private sector who are members of the partnership team joined hands with a number of public sector organisations to address the challenges facing the private sector.
The fourth theme covers the efforts made to build a mechanism to finance the projects by the public and private sectors, he said. A joint team and a draft law for partnership has been made to allow for establishing an agency with the required powers to ensure taking quick decisions and approving the partnership agreements.
An agency for partnership has been established and provided with the necessary powers to float and award tenders to the private sector. He stressed the efforts made by the private sector to ensure this partnership and its contribution to proposing initiatives and treatments for the different issues.
Sayyed Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court pointed out that ‘ Statistics show that the contribution of the non-oil sector to the GDP at the third quarter 2017 grew by 5 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2016 which reflects the seriousness of the private sector and its ability for growth.
On his part, Dr. Ali bin Qassim bin Jawad, Advisor of Studies and Researches at the Diwan of Royal Court delivered a speech where he said that the Forum encourages sharing views and launching initiatives that enhance growth. It will also enhance association with the regional and international organizations which in turn will enhance economic competitiveness in the Sultanate.
He pointed out that the forum sessions have been designed to ensure benefiting from international experience in meeting our national needs. The Forum is looking forward to new ways of enhancing PPP to support the efforts made by the Sultanate’s government in various fields.
He noted that the states in the region including the Sultanate are very vital and active as youth category represent the bulk of the population in these states. The experts taking part in the Forum will highlight the changes, challenges and opportunities that the Sultanate can benefit from.
On his part, Dr. Al- Sunaidy, said that the Forum is the outcome of the joint work between the public and private sectors. He added that the Sultanate is now passing an important stage of economic diversification as construction at the key ports has been completed and operate efficiently. The new terminal at Duqm will be opened soon. The passenger terminal at Sohar Airport will also be completed soon and will be ready to receive international flights.
He also pointed out that the Sultanate continues the construction of main roads despite the current economic conditions. The focus in the current stage is on maintaining the RO5.5 billion contribution of the industry sector to the GDP. The sector, which operates efficiently, is benefiting from suitable gas prices.
‘The key tourism projects include Mina Sultan Qaboos, a joint Omani / Gulf Ventures, he concluded.
The Forum includes a number of working papers distributed on the key four themes namely ‘ the horizons of the present and the changes of the future’, 4IR and available opportunities for governments and business community and its effect on the Sultanate’, ‘ the opportunities for growth and the role of partnership between the private and public sectors’, the ‘ investment opportunities in light of the ‘ belt and road ‘ initiative and others- the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZD) as a model’.
