The Majlis Ash’shura on Monday hosted Dr Abdullah bin Nasser al Harrasi, Minister of Information, to discuss the ministry’s statement.
In the statement, which coincided with the Council’s 8th regular session of the 10th Term’s first annual convening, the minister outlined the media strategy and policy of the Sultanate of Oman. The statement touched on the actual outcome of efforts undertaken by the ministry within the context of the 9th Five-Year Plan, and the strategic programmes of the ministry during 10th Five-Year Plan, the laws regulating the media sector in Oman and the ministry’s efforts in the field of media training.
Dr Abdullah said that the Omani media receives the support of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik who expressed his conviction in the significant role of the media in the next stage of development.
“This is in addition to the importance of the media in enhancing awareness, shaping discourse, preserving the national identity, safeguarding the great gains of the modern and renewed renaissance, conveying Oman’s judicious voice and portraying its sound image to the countries and peoples of the world,” said the minister.
He added that “Omani media is undertaking an enlightenment role, disseminating knowledge and achieving cultural openness with others”.
The media in Oman, he explained, lays emphasis on the principle of freedom of opinion and freedom of expression within legal boundaries defined by the Basic Law of the State promulgated by Royal Decree No 6/2021.
The minister pointed out that Omani media stems from the tenets of the religion of Islam, its noble values and the Basic Law of the State.
The minister underscored the fact that Omani media seeks to strengthen the national unity, consolidate the values of loyalty to the homeland and allegiance to His Majesty the Sultan.
In particular, the Omani media contributes to the promotion of the authentic principles, said the minister, noting that various programmes of the Omani media enshrine Omani society’s cultural identity and aspire to preserve it.
It should be noted that the Majlis Ash’shura has approved the Draft Media Law and referred the bill to the State Council to round up the legislative session.
The Draft Media Law was based on rapid developments that have been taking place in the media domain since the issuance of the laws governing media activities, making it necessary to merge the statutes into one uniform law.
The new bill, once endorsed, will result in the abolition of the laws governing media activities, which are the “Printing and Publishing Law”, the “Law on Private Radio and Television Establishments”, and the “Law on Censorship of Artistic Works”.
The minister said that efforts are made to highlight Oman in the foreign media by hosting a large number of journalists and media professionals from abroad.
As for the training programmes, it was noted that the training programmes were not limited to employees and students, but rather included officials in various government units.
The Media Training Centre provides specialised training programmes for employees of the ministry, those working in the media field in private media institutions, workers in media departments and in various government units, students from colleges and universities in the field of media training and development.
Within the framework of the Ministry of Information’s interest in media in various governorates, more than 120 correspondents and journalists are working to feed its various media outlets with media content from all governorates and there are media offices in addition to the Directorate-General of Information in Dhofar Governorate, and a media team in Al Wusta Governorate.
The volume of news flow from these offices has reached more than 5,000 items distributed among print, visual, audio and electronic content during the year 2023, and it is working in coordination with authorities to establish an office in Al Wusta Governorate to highlight its various capabilities and components, especially the Special Economic Zone in Duqm.
The minister praised the important and pioneering role played by Oman newspaper and Oman Daily Observer with its various supplements.
In accordance with the Ministry of Information’s interest to keep in touch with audiences, it has created a group of electronic accounts with the aim of interacting with the public, and the number of its followers reached more than 6 million followers from various countries around the world by the end of 2023.
The number of views of the content of the Sultanate of Oman’s TV channels on the global YouTube platform rose to more than 300 million views by the end of 2023.
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