MUSCAT - The Ministry of Economy is currently working on a national programme for economic diversification which aims to expedite the realisation of the diversification plan and establish a diversified production base which can partially disengage the economy from reliance on oil and gas revenues.

This was stated by Dr Nasser bin Rashid al Maawali, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy.

He added: “Certainly we will be able to realise the objectives set for the economic diversification sectors during the Tenth Five-Year Development Plan (2021-2025). This will serve as a solid foundation and a pivotal achievement for the upcoming five-year plans.”

In an interview with 'Oman Arabic', sister publication of the 'Observer', Dr Al Maawali said that the positive expectations of the World Economic Outlook (April 2022) published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reflect the government’s efforts to set the Sultanate of Oman’s economic growth back on track, and speed up recovery from the economic setbacks of the previous years including the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Al Maawali praised the positive indicators of the Omani economy that came as a result of incentivisation efforts and the measures aimed at accelerating the economy and stemming the economic impact of the pandemic.

He stressed that all the packages that were directed towards the recovery measures, whether for small or medium enterprises or the exemption packages for investments, have contributed to economic stabilisation and restoration of economic growth.

Commenting on the IMF’s expectations of a real GDP growth of 5.6 per cent in 2022, Dr Al Maawali said that this is only an interim gain for Oman’s economy, especially when we take into account the IMF’s expectations of a slowdown in the global economy during the 2022-2023 period at just 3.6 per cent.

He noted that economic growth enhances attracting foreign investments, improves the credit rating of the Sultanate of Oman and reflects positively on the citizens’ standard of living. He pointed out that this gain was the result of several factors, most importantly the rise in oil and gas prices. This is also attributed to the government’s integrated efforts to stimulate economic recovery on the one hand and accelerate economic diversification, on the other hand.

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