SALALAH, April 22 - To ensure that the Vision 2040 should be an inclusive idea for ‘All of Oman’, the representatives of Oman 2040 Office held an interactive session with the people of Dhofar on Sunday and assured them that their views on preparing the country for the future would be considered in the right manner. ‘All of Oman’ initiative is an effort to reinforce the participatory approach between different society segments to draw a right vision befitting the needs of the country, society and community. In line with this commitment, Oman 2040 Office representatives sought people’s opinion at a large gathering held at Sultan Qaboos Youth Complex for Culture and Entertainment.
The gathering comprised the members of the State and Shura councils, walis of the governorate, and dignitaries representing all segments of society in the governorate. In an effort to make the ‘All of Oman’ initiative more comprehensive and specific at the same time, three workshops were also held at the same venue to elicit the participants views on ‘people and society’; ‘economy and development’; and ‘state of government institutions’. Dr Ahmed al Amri, Adviser at the Office of the Minister of State and Governor of Dhofar for Technical Affairs, gave a welcome speech, while Khalid al Sunaidy, Head of Oman 2040 Office, introduced the concept and idea behind the initiative to the participants.
Citing the factsheet, Al Sunaidy emphasised that the vision ‘Oman 2040’ will be developed on the basis of wide community consensus and participation of different social groups, so that the vision is fully integrated into the economic and social realities and objectively orientated towards the future foresight, as a key guide and reference for planning in the next two decades. “For the implementation of the Royal directives, relevant committees have been formed to prepare the future vision of ‘Oman 2040’, including the Main Committee, Technical Committee and the Sectoral committees. These committees have been divided into the themes of the vision namely; People and Society, Economy and Development, and Governance and Institutional Performance,” he said.
In addition to them, there are committees of ‘National priorities alignment of strategies’, ‘Organisation and follow-up’, and ‘Preparation team for the national conference’. Members of these committees comprise more than 100 people from various stakeholders, representing all segments of the Omani society. The Oman 2040 policies thus have been categorised into three broad pillars. Under ‘People and Society’ the aim is to enhance family and community health and their well-being, uphold Omani identity and heritage and develop national technical and entrepreneurial capabilities.
The vision for ‘Economy and development’ aims at creating wealth through economic diversification and private sector partnership. It also wants to achieve balanced development of all the governorates, preserving environment sustainability and creating world-class infrastructure and livable cities.
There is a vision to improve governance effectiveness and the rule of law under the broad vision of ‘Governance and institutional performance’.
Oman 2040 Office representatives exhorted the participants to give free and frank opinion so that the vision becomes the true draft of the needs of the people and a strong tool for the overall development of the country.
Kaushalendra Singh
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