Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Oman 2019: The year that was

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As any calendar year, 2019 had some landmark events in Oman, with some of them likely to make a major contribution as the Sultanate enters the new decade of this millennium.


NEW MINISTRIES: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos established two new ministries this year for technology, communications, and arts affairs.


Azza al Ismaili was named the Minister of Technology and Communications and Dr Suad al Lawatia as the Minister of Arts Affairs.


A new Ministry of Technology and Communications was created while the name of the Ministry of Transport and Communications was changed to the Ministry of Transport.


MAJLIS ASH’SHURA ELECTIONS: Two women were elected to the ninth term of Majlis Ash’shura elections held on October 29 against a lone member in the previous session. Tahira al Lawatia and Fadhila al Ruaili representing Muttrah and Suhar were two winners from the 40 women candidates who contested the elections this time.


Most of the Shura members this time are new and relatively young.


According to the Ministry of Interior that oversaw the election process, all the election centres were well organised in terms of receiving and guiding the voters, which led to higher turnouts from the previous years.


A MAJOR PLAYER IN WORLD HEALTH: Oman hosted the World Health Organization’s Global Meeting in 2019 as it seeks to accelerate progress on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 3.4 on NCDs and Mental Health.


It was revealed that while NCDs are responsible for 70 per cent of the deaths worldwide, seven of ten people in the world die of cancer, heart diseases, lung diseases, diabetes and mental conditions.


DROP IN ROAD ACCIDENTS: Deaths by road accidents in the Sultanate dropped by more than a half from 31.4 per 100,000 persons in 2012 to 14.1 in 2018. This decline is attributed to the efforts by Royal Oman Police (ROP). Speeding, overtaking and negligence, and bad behaviour are the main causes of road accidents in Oman. Every three hours one road accident took place on Oman’s roads in 2018 compared to one accident every two hours in 2017.


DUQM AIRPORT: Part of the special economic zone, it was officially opened on July 14, 2019. The airport occupies a total area of 27,386sq m and has an estimated capacity of half a million passengers a year with the potential to expand to 2mn passengers a year.


As of November 2019, Duqm Airport operated 576 flights (both arrivals and departures) and a total of 52,670 passengers.


5G NETWORK: The 5G network has been officially launched in the country by Omantel in line with the 5G technology roadmap, announced by TRA on October 15 this year. Customers can enjoy various lifestyle offers including basic home and gaming. “The launch of 5G Home is another important milestone in our strategy to lead the digital innovation in Oman,” TRA said.


Both the telecom companies will construct and install 4,400 stations to operate 5G technology in the next five years, including 1,000 stations in the year 2019-2020. To enable the effective roll-out of 5G services and encourage investment in the sector, the telecom companies will be exempted from the annual frequency usage fees for one year.


THIRD MOBILE OPERATOR: A strategic partner agreement of the third mobile operator in Oman was signed in 2019 to begin in 2020. The agreement between Oman Future Telecommunications (OFT) and the British company Vodafone will help provide all essential services for the establishment of the new company, including the use of the brand, technical support and knowledge during the 15-year contract.


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