MUSCAT: Into the fourth year of its 10th Five Year Development Plan, spanning the 2021 – 2025 timeframe, the Sultanate of Oman has continued to deliver improvements in the fiscal performance of this medium-term national action plan.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the first three years of the Development Plan have so far showed “positive improvement, driven by the sustained implementation of measures to control public spending, improve non-hydrocarbon revenue and the increase in average oil prices”.
In Fiscal 2021, the actual deficit was nearly halved to RO 1.223 billion, down from a projected deficit of RO 2.240 billion.
A year later in Fiscal 2022, the projected deficit of RO 1.660 was dramatically transformed into a surplus of RO 1.146 billion. A similar pattern emerged in Fiscal 2023, when the anticipated deficit of RO 605 million ended up in a surplus of RO 931 million.
For the current fiscal year, the 10th Plan forecasts a deficit of RO 165 million, although the 2024 State Budget projects the deficit to swell to RO 640 million.
This elevated deficit forecast is attributed to “higher spending estimates for subsidy allocations, the creation of a new spending item for projects with developmental impact, and the budget-item concerning the social protection system in addition to having a hedged estimates for average oil price”, the Ministry noted in its 2024 Budget statement.
Underpinning the broad objectives of the 10th Five Year Development Plan are an array of national program designed to also help achieve the goals of Oman Vision 2040. These programmes are aimed at the following objectives: Identifying sustainable solutions for priority areas, such as financial and economic situation; Supporting employment generation; Attracting investments, Enhancing global competitiveness; and Driving the digital transformation.
Notable is the National Programme for Economic Diversification (Tanwea’a), an initiative supervised by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP). Encompassing more than 170 dynamic initiatives and investment projects, Tanwea’a aims to achieve three pivotal goals: Sectoral development and investment, Fostering a stimulating business environment, and Expanding foreign trade.
“Over the past two years, the program has spearheaded the establishment of a national negotiation team, solely dedicated to attracting high-quality investments, and an investment hall in Oman to serve investors.
The programme also sought to launch a unified investment incentives guide for all sectors,” the Ministry noted.
Similarly, the National Programme for Investment and Export Development (Nazdahir), also spearheaded by MoCIIP, seeks to empower the private sector in leading economic development by creating an attractive investment environment and improving the business environment in Oman.
This is sought to be achieved by “simplifying and digitising investor procedures and developing investment tools, legislation and the judiciary”.
Another far-reaching initiative is the National Employment Programme (Tashgheel).
Supervised by the Ministry of Labour, Tashgheel endeavours to identify sustainable solutions for creating job opportunities across all sectors of the economy.
A more recent addition to the list is the National Zero Neutrality Programme, supervised jointly by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals and the Environment Authority.
The overarching goal is to ensure that Oman achieves net-zero carbon neutrality by 2050 with a focus on a structured transformation of the economy, and the deployment of cost-effective and modern technologies.
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