Gulf countries able to diversify economy to achieve goals
Published: 05:08 PM,Aug 30,2022 | EDITED : 09:08 PM,Aug 30,2022
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The Sultanate of Oman and other Gulf countries are able to restructure the economy in line with the desired aspirations towards establishing a solid base of economic diversification, opined experts attending the conference on 'Economic Diversification in the Gulf Countries' being held under the auspices of Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion.
The two-day conference, organised by Al Ro'ya in cooperation with the Smart Gateway for Investment and the Regional Programme for the Gulf States at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, began on Tuesday.
The experts said it was time to recover from the excessive dependence on oil.
'The opportunity has come for us to get rid of that cocoon that surrounds our economies and impede their progress towards greater diversification and economic pluralism,' Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, said.
'We are going through an important phase noted by a sharp decline and a significant rise in oil and gas prices, between a complete closure and openness in economic activities and global supply chains, between inflation and stagnation and between geopolitical changes in the region and the world, and between wars and stability,' Dr Yousef bin Hamad al Balushi, founder and chairman of the Smart Investment Gateway, said in his opening statement of the conference.
Al Balushi said that it is no secret that the Arab Gulf states were directly affected by all these circumstances, and the 'new old' talk about the importance of economic diversification - which was not neglected by all development plans in the countries of the region - has become more renewed, glare and urgent, and all indications point at the fact that the space available to the Gulf states to achieve economic diversification are decreasing, but at the same time they are still sufficient to achieve the goals in achieving economic diversification, especially in light of the readiness that the Gulf states enjoy at various levels.
He pointed at the advanced infrastructure, educated human resources, and the availability of financial and natural resources.
The forum includes 4 main themes, and they are, the progress made in the various diversification files, the role of Gulf governments and private sectors in achieving diversification, in addition to the mechanisms of readiness and improving the ability to benefit from the accelerating global changes, and the wave of integration and overlap in the global economy to accelerate diversification plans, by promoting trade and attracting more foreign investments. In addition to reviewing the Gulf experiences in the file of economic diversification, and the most prominent proposals to advance these efforts in the Gulf countries.
Hamad al Taei, member of the State Council and editor-in-chief of Al Ro'ya, said that the great disruption in supply chains, the scarcity of the supply of products and goods around the world, and the high cost of shipping and insurance of goods, are among the many factors that caused an inflationary wave with the start of the first stages of recovery from the epidemic, which the companies in the Sultanate of Oman too are experiencing.
'Inflation is a nightmare that haunts financial policy makers in central banks, economists, and even the simple citizen, who no longer feels the purchasing power of his national currency, and saving has become a difficult process for many members of society,' he added.
@kabeeryousef
The two-day conference, organised by Al Ro'ya in cooperation with the Smart Gateway for Investment and the Regional Programme for the Gulf States at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, began on Tuesday.
The experts said it was time to recover from the excessive dependence on oil.
'The opportunity has come for us to get rid of that cocoon that surrounds our economies and impede their progress towards greater diversification and economic pluralism,' Qais bin Mohammed al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, said.
'We are going through an important phase noted by a sharp decline and a significant rise in oil and gas prices, between a complete closure and openness in economic activities and global supply chains, between inflation and stagnation and between geopolitical changes in the region and the world, and between wars and stability,' Dr Yousef bin Hamad al Balushi, founder and chairman of the Smart Investment Gateway, said in his opening statement of the conference.
Al Balushi said that it is no secret that the Arab Gulf states were directly affected by all these circumstances, and the 'new old' talk about the importance of economic diversification - which was not neglected by all development plans in the countries of the region - has become more renewed, glare and urgent, and all indications point at the fact that the space available to the Gulf states to achieve economic diversification are decreasing, but at the same time they are still sufficient to achieve the goals in achieving economic diversification, especially in light of the readiness that the Gulf states enjoy at various levels.
He pointed at the advanced infrastructure, educated human resources, and the availability of financial and natural resources.
The forum includes 4 main themes, and they are, the progress made in the various diversification files, the role of Gulf governments and private sectors in achieving diversification, in addition to the mechanisms of readiness and improving the ability to benefit from the accelerating global changes, and the wave of integration and overlap in the global economy to accelerate diversification plans, by promoting trade and attracting more foreign investments. In addition to reviewing the Gulf experiences in the file of economic diversification, and the most prominent proposals to advance these efforts in the Gulf countries.
Hamad al Taei, member of the State Council and editor-in-chief of Al Ro'ya, said that the great disruption in supply chains, the scarcity of the supply of products and goods around the world, and the high cost of shipping and insurance of goods, are among the many factors that caused an inflationary wave with the start of the first stages of recovery from the epidemic, which the companies in the Sultanate of Oman too are experiencing.
'Inflation is a nightmare that haunts financial policy makers in central banks, economists, and even the simple citizen, who no longer feels the purchasing power of his national currency, and saving has become a difficult process for many members of society,' he added.
@kabeeryousef