04 February 2016
Muscat: Public Private Partnership Taskforce (Sharakah) celebrated launch of its second phase of work at Al Wahat Club in Uthaiba under the patronage of Sayyid Khalid bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court yesterday.

Acknowledging the role of participants in the first phase of Sharakah's work, the Minister of the Diwan of Royal Court thanked the members from the government and private sectors for their efforts that led to the successful realisation of Sharakah's objectives. He also welcomed the new members of the private sector and invited them to actively participate in Sharakah and build on the achievements of the first phase.

Concrete steps

He pointed out that since it was launched, Sharakah has been taking concrete steps following His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said's - May Allah Protect Him -direction to enhance the role of the private sector and its involvement in socio-economic development efforts. He highlighted the significance of the harmony and constructive dialogue between the representatives of the government and private sectors during the first round of Sharakah's work, which established a solid foundation for action. This resulted in launching of many initiatives that contribute to achieving the national priorities of partnership including, economic diversification, job creation for Omanis, regional development, and building national capabilities.

Efforts at all levels

He stressed that the social and economic development process requires comprehensive and integrated efforts at all levels through an organised participation process such as Sharakah, to achieve ambitious national targets. He added that all nations seek to create corporate entities, legislation and systems to support and activate the partnership between the government and private sectors with the aim to achieve and subsequently boost development.

He furthermore highlighted that the Taskforce is currently working on several initiatives aimed at enhancing the business environments and developing national capabilities, as well as an initiative to develop the institutional and legislative framework for partnership projects between the government and private sectors.

The importance of establishing a culture of partnership based on the foundation of constructive dialogue, enriched discussions, and continuous communication.

The celebration took place in the presence of their excellencies, the ministers representing the government in Sharakah, members of the business community, the new members joining Sharakah in its second phase, as well as the undersecretaries who participated in the different workshops held by Sharakah.

© Times of Oman 2016