Focus on coordination and inclusive governance

If the Sultanate of Oman’s future is to be judged, the measure lies in institutions, not just plans.
His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s directives to create an Economic Coordination Council and to add one more seat for women in the Majlis Ash’shura signal more about the next phase of Oman Vision 2040 than any speech. These are not administrative tweaks but rather the corrections that Oman requires.
The Economic Coordination Council addresses Oman’s central bottleneck: execution. The Council aims to harmonise government policies with the needs of the private sector, anticipate global economic trends, foster the growth of economic sectors, maximise the private sector's contribution to economic growth, and ensure that public policies are directed towards a more diversified and balanced development model.
The Ministry of Finance plans budgets. Investment agencies court capital. Labour regulators set employment rules. Infrastructure bodies design projects. Each works with purpose, yet they often operate apart.
The consequence is misaligned policy: a tax designed for revenue can constrain business growth; a training programme can miss the skills a new factory actually needs. Strong intentions, weak alignment.
The significance of the Council appears in three areas. Speed: approvals and data in one room reduce bureaucratic lag. Coherence: fiscal, labour and industrial policies stop pulling in opposite directions. Accountability: a single forum tracking results makes it easier to identify what works and end what does not, protecting public funds and private confidence. Yet a council is only as effective as its authority. Without real-time data and the power to resolve disputes, it risks becoming another talking shop. With His Majesty’s agenda driving it, the Council becomes Oman’s economic command room.
The second directive — an additional Majlis Ash’shura seat for women — carries equal weight for different reasons. This is a principle, not a quota.
Majlis Ash’shura reviews laws, budgets and national issues that affect every household. When the experience of half the population is absent from that table, legislation carries blind spots.
Omani women are no longer on the margins of economic life. They run businesses, lead in education and health, and increasingly enter finance, engineering, and technology. That perspective changes the questions raised in parliament. Will a labour law account for childcare? Can vocational training reach women in remote wilayats? Are financing rules practical for female entrepreneurs? These are economic questions because they affect GDP, household income and productivity.
The significance of this seat extends beyond representation. Practically, diverse input produces sharper laws with higher compliance because they reflect real household and business conditions.
Economically, it increases labour force participation. When women see their concerns reflected in policy, more enter the workforce, directly expanding Oman’s productive base. Culturally, representation shifts expectations.
Some argue that one seat is insufficient. That concern is valid, and it should not be the endpoint. Institutions evolve by precedent. This directive establishes that women belong in Majlis Ash’shura as decision-makers, not guests. If that seat demonstrates its value through better legislation and oversight, the case for further expansion will strengthen on its own merits.
Taken together, these directives reflect one conviction: Oman’s next phase requires better systems and broader participation. Coordination without inclusion yields efficient but narrow policy. Inclusion without coordination yields good intentions without results. The Council provides alignment. The Majlis Ash’shura seat provides perspective.
His Majesty’s approach remains measured: define the structure, state the principle, then let results speak. The test now begins. The Council must prove it can unify policy and reduce delays. The Majlis Ash’shura seat must prove that new voices lead to stronger laws.
Oman Vision 2040 set the destination: a diversified, competitive, knowledge-based economy. These directives provide the machinery. An economy that coordinates better wastes less. An economy that includes more voices sees more opportunities.
Oman does not lack talent or ambition. What is needed is alignment between them. With an Economic Coordination Council at the centre and wider representation in Majlis Ash’shura, that alignment is now possible. The remainder depends on execution, honest debate and contribution from every Omani. That is how directives turn into development.