Muscat: The Minister of Economy, His Excellency Dr. Said Al Saqri, discussed the upcoming five-year plan (2026-2030) and highlighted the Ministry's focus on global economic changes, energy trends, environmental sustainability, zero neutrality, green hydrogen, and the integration of technological transformations and artificial intelligence.
During the fifth regular session of the first annual session of the tenth term, held before the Shura Council, Dr. Al Saqri presented an assessment of the Omani economy and its performance until the middle of the current five-year development plan (2021-2025). He also emphasized the Ministry's role in addressing regional and international economic changes.
Dr. Al Saqri stated, "To recover from the impact of the Corona pandemic and improve economic performance, the government has implemented various policies and measures. These include economic stimulus packages, tax exemptions, low-interest financing, direct financial support for affected institutions, and soft loans for projects."
He further highlighted the positive developments witnessed by the Omani economy during the first two years of the Tenth Five-Year Development Plan (2021-2023), with growth rates of approximately 2.6 percent and 9.6 percent in real prices. It is expected that positive growth rates will continue throughout the remainder of the plan.
His Excellency highlighted the government's proactive steps to safeguard the Omani economy from inflation, resulting in its stability within safe parameters despite the global inflation surge of around 6 percent in 2023, with Oman's inflation rate staying below 1 percent.
His Excellency anticipates that the expenditure on the development budget for 2023 will reach approximately OMR 1.2 billion.
The Minister expressed the Ministry's aim to create a competitiveness index for governorates, encompassing key projects and achievements to gauge their progress and development.
