July 23, 1970 saw the beginning of Oman’s modern renaissance. The vision set forth by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos encompassed all areas of development. Today sees the 49th anniversary of Oman’s Renaissance Day.
Next year sees the completion of 2020 Oman economic vision, but the pace has been already set for 2040. From 2020 economic vision to Oman 2040 there is a vast difference, so we can imagine the leap from 1970 the Sultanate has witnessed. The journey has seen from discovering oil, and oil fuelling the economy, moving towards diversification and renewable energy.
Quite often as we reflect on the media about the days that were at the beginning of the Renaissance, people tend to say, “We have heard that before.”
But historians and other experts would say, “We must hear it again because it is important to remember the journey.” Yes from one tarmac road to a school to limited healthcare, His Majesty and the government steered the nation to a modern state secured with deep rooted traditions and values.
Retaining the roots turned out to be one of Oman’s biggest assets — the nation’s identity. The traditions continue to reflect in the Sultanate’s modern day architecture to foreign policies. The country did not sacrifice traditions for modern development and today it is this very heritage that has become Oman’s major tourism attractions. In the economic vision of 2020 the tourism sector was highlighted to contribute to the nation’s GDP. In 2019 take a look around to have glimpses of the projects that have come about and even more exciting are the heritage tourism that sees the revival of old buildings rehabilitated as tourism homes generating jobs and income for the local communities.
The number of higher education institutions increased in the country in these years providing various options for students as well as scholarships provided for pupils who wanted to pursue studies abroad. Human resources have been one of the pillars that have been on the focus as much as the economy and social development.
Today of course the challenge is meeting requirement of the job market and aligning the education to the evolving job market. From mainly family owned businesses the sector today sees a growing number of entrepreneurs with support and guidance from Riyadah and the Rafd Fund and other entities that support the growth of SMEs. For entrepreneurs this is probably the most exciting time.
At the same time for researchers in the country this is an era that sees a growing number of opportunities not only from what has been offered by the universities and colleges but there is more to be expected from the National Strategy for Research and Development 2020-2040 from The Research Council (TRC). The TRC’s Graduate Research Grant (GRG) programme is expected to enable many more Omani graduates and pre-Doctoral investigators to pursue research whether they are working professionals or post graduate students. To encourage the research culture there are also Block Funding Grants including the Research Grants (RG) and Undergraduate Research Grants (URG) from the TRC.
Yet another development the Renaissance has seen is the steps taken towards protecting the country’s animal and plant genetic resources. The TRC’s Oman Animal and Plant Genetic Resources Center (OAPGRC) that sees the protection of the unique pool of genetic resources — spanning the animal, marine and plant worlds, both domesticated and wild, as well as the world of micro — organisms.
The journey of the Renaissance continues and the experiences have been learning tools whether it is the changing energy needs or the evolving economy.
Currently the exhibition that is going on at the Salalah Tourism Festival Ground depicts the journey through a collection of pictures of His Majesty taken by Mohammed Mustafa ranging from black and white to colour images.
As the nation continues to move forward let the past be an inspiration to achieve further development as a country and as individuals.
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