MUSCAT: The 5th version of Oman Economic Forum, held this year under the theme 'Oman: A Bridge between Asia and GCC,' was opened at Shangri La Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa under the auspices of Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidi, Minister of Commerce and Industry. While addressing the gathering, the minister said the Sultanate of Oman has reacted with the sharp decline of oil prices and revenues by acclimatising with it to protect its economy against the implications of this crisis. "The Sultanate also leveraged the opportunities to develop policies to rationalise public expenditure and enhance its efficiency. It also continued the governmental programmes to develop the infrastructure and enhance the ability of the private sector to grow," he further said.
He added that in response to the Royal Directives of His Majesty the Sultan, the Sultanate's government is continuing its programmes to attract investments from friendly countries at the different economic sectors and enhance the role of the private sector in the Omani economy. It also takes necessary measures to provide healthy milieu for investment and business. It also launches major investment projects and cares for SMEs and entrepreneurship. He called on local and foreign investors to invest in public services sector, such as health, sanitary drainage, and solid waste management, in addition to the key five sectors that have been identified by the 9th five-year development plan namely the logistic, manufacturing industries, tourism, mining and aquaculture. He affirmed the Sultanate has taken several measures to ensure more flexibility and facilitate business and investment in the Sultanate.
He also said the 4.7 per cent growth of the non-oil revenues by the end of 2015 coupled with less than 1 per cent inflation rate reflect the success of the government's economic policy to achieve economic diversification. He added that the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) along with Japanese institutions and GCC investors continue the designs for storing cereals and foodstuffs in the Sultanate and the GCC countries. The forum is organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in conjunction with Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group, the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF), the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) and Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CBO).
The forum's programme will tackle a range of topics including Oman's economic outlook, Oman's role as a bridge between Asia and the GCC, the key investment opportunities in the Sultanate, the investment prospects in Iran, the main factors attracting investments and the enhancement of entrepreneurship through SMEs. The forum aims to support the development goals of the government and in particular the objective of promoting the Sultanate position as a station for international trade and the movement of multi-modal transport between continents, as well as a hub for attracting international investments by providing the best environment attractive to them.
The forum includes seven working sessions as the first session will be on Oman's Economic Outlook through future vision for Oman's Economy, assessing oil prices trends and adapting to the new reality, major achievements in the economic diversification strategy, elements and objectives of the ninth five-year plan.
The opening session of the forum, which was titled 'Horizons of the Omani Economy, covered the future vision of Oman's economy, oil prices trends and how to acclimatise with the new status, the major achievements in economic diversification strategy and the aims of the 9th five-year plan.
Sultan bin Salim al Habsi, Secretary- General of the Supreme Council for Planning, delivered a speech where he reviewed the major performance indicators in the 8th five-year plan ending in 2015. He added that the average growth rate in the plan was about 3.5 per cent at the fixed price which is in line with the target in the future vision 2020 (3 per cent). The average growth in the advanced economies stood at 1.7 per cent compared to 3.3 per cent in the MENA region. This shows that the Sultanate's growth rate has been in line with international trends.
He added that during the 8th five-year plan the non-oil activities grew by 6.1 per cent at fixed prices compared to 2.4 per cent for oil activities; a positive indicator that the Sultanate is going on the right track to reduce the dominance of the oil sector on economic activity.
He pointed out that while the contribution of the private sector to the GDP at fixed prices stands at 50 per cent during the 8th five-year plan, still its growth has been slow (2.7 per cent) compared to the growth of the public sector (5 per cent). The contribution of the private sector to non-oil activities stood at more than 60 per cent but most of them are concentrated in construction, wholesale, retail and oil & gas based industries.
On his part, Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communications, said that the Sultanate has made much headway in developing its infrastructure system, such as road and ports. The Sultanate now has ports with 18 metre-deep berths and high level of operational efficiency. The Sultanate is about to complete its modern airport and work is underway to implement the railway project.
He affirmed that the GCC railway project has not stopped but it is in a state of reaching an accord on the timelines for implementation by the GCC states. He pointed out that the Sultanate has reached the stage of awarding the contract. The next meeting of the GCC Transport Ministers is expected to come out with new vision which hopefully fits everyone.
He also said there is a study to explore the possibility of implementing some parts and operating them internally to connect economic areas with ports until an agreement is reached for the project on the GCC level.
On his turn, Yahya bin Said al Jabri, Chairman of the Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (SEZAD), said that the Sultanate's geographic location qualifies it to become a bridge between Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and GCC and a logistic hub as well.
He pointed out that Oman Economic Forum provides an ideal opportunity for economy professionals to review the general trends of the state in relation to economic planning and share views about them.
Negotiations are under way between SEZAD and a number of Chinese groups supported by the government to provide them with a concession right to develop 900 hectares at the Zone as a centre for light and medium industries, he added.
© Oman Daily Observer 2016
