Business

OPAZ delegation engages with leading Irish industrial bodies

 
DUBLIN: Dr Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy, Chairman of the Public Authority for Special Economic and Free Zones (OPAZ), met in Ireland with Dara Calleary, Minister of State for Trade Promotion Digital and Company Regulation, responsible for regulating economic zones, issuing laws and regulations related to investment, and developing supportive electronic systems.

Dr Al Sunaidy is currently leading a delegation comprising officials from the Authority, the Special Economic Zone at Duqm, and the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn). The visit comes within the framework of OPAZ’s institutional transformation plan.

Since the beginning of the year, OPAZ has started a transformation programme in association with International Development Ireland, benefiting from the Irish expertise in managing and developing economic zones. The cooperation aims to enhance the Authority’s ability to attract strategic industrial projects and to link supply chains between local and international manufacturers and to empower small and medium size enterprises, and to promote the use of digital platforms and applications.

During the visit, the delegation also met with the CEO of the Irish Investment Promotion agency “IDA Ireland”, the CEO of Enterprise Ireland and the Chair of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council in Ireland. The delegation also visited several economic zones, manufacturers and the Centre for Bioprocessing and Training, and discussed the methods of harmonization between different industrial zones, enhancing productivity, and increasing integration between them.

The delegation also explored existing programs to enhance job opportunities and raise worker efficiency, skills development, and professional competence and discussed possibilities of collaboration in developing industrial clusters in the various zones in the Sultanate of Oman.